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Neural networks (NNs) can provide a simple solution to complex structural vibration control problems. However, most past NN-based control strategies cannot guarantee an optimal policy in structural vibration control. In this study, a novel active vibration control strategy based on deep reinforcement learning is proposed, which utilizes the learning ability of NN controllers and simultaneously provides control performance comparable to traditional model-based optimal controllers. The proposed learning algorithm can determine the control policy through interaction with the environment without knowing dynamic system models. This study shows that the proposed model-free strategy can provide optimal control performance to various systems and excitations. The proposed control strategy is first verified on a single-degree-of-freedom model and subsequently extended to a multi-degree-of-freedom shear-building model. Its control performance with full-state feedback is nearly the same as that of a classical linear quadratic regulator. Moreover, the learned policy can outperform a traditional output feedback controller in a partially observed system. The robustness of the proposed control strategy against measurement noise is also tested.

The control performances of inerter-based dampers on stay cables, usually governed by relevant damper parameters (such as inertance, stiffness, and damping coefficients), are sensitive to parameter variation around the optimal range. Further given these inerter-based dampers amplify the vibration amplitude at the damper location, the effects of cable’s flexural rigidity, which is often ignored in previous studies, are examined in this study. The results suggest an approximate 10% increase in all three design parameters (i.e., inertance, stiffness, and damping coefficients) is required to achieve optimal control compared with the case ignoring the flexural rigidity. In addition, the potential combination of inerter-based dampers with negative stiffness elements is also discussed in this study, which offers a more flexible layout and enhances multi-mode cable vibration control performance. Consequently, the tuning procedures are updated, and the revised optimal tuning formulas taking account of both the cable’s flexural rigidity and the introduction of negative stiffness are presented in this paper.

Despite their superior control performance, active vibration control techniques cannot be widely used in some engineering fields because of their substantial power demand in controlling large-scale structures. As an innovative solution to this problem, an unprecedented self-powered active vibration control system was established in this study. The topological design, working mechanism, and power flow of the proposed system are presented herein. The self-powering ability of the system was confirmed based on a detailed power flow analysis of vibration control processes. A self-powered actively controlled actuator was designed and applied to a scaled active vibration isolation table. The feasibility and effectiveness of the innovative system were successfully validated through a series of analytical, numerical, and experimental investigations. The setup and control strategy of the proposed system can be readily extended to diversified active vibration control applications in various engineering fields.

An electromagnetic inertial mass damper (EIMD) is an inerter-based damper that can significantly enhance the seismic performance of a frame structure. However, the stochastic seismic analysis of a base-isolated structure (BIS) with the EIMD subjected to earthquake ground motions has rarely been reported. Based on a probabilistic framework, this paper studies the stochastic seismic responses of the BIS with the EIMD subjected to seismic excitations considering three typical soil conditions. The analytical solutions of the response variances of a two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) BIS-EIMD system are derived considering both stationary and non-stationary seismic excitations. A parametric study on the BIS-EIMD system subjected to stochastic seismic excitations modeled by filtered Kanai-Tajimi spectrum is conducted to investigate the different seismic responses under firm, medium, and soft soil conditions, and the corresponding optimal inertance and damping of the EIMD are obtained by minimizing the stochastic seismic responses of the superstructure or the base floor. The results of the 2DOF BIS-EIMD system indicate that the optimal EIMD achieves comparable control performance under the three soil conditions, but the optimal parameters of the EIMD vary significantly under different soil conditions. Under soft soil conditions, the BIS-EIMD system requires a much larger inertance setting compared with that of the firm and medium soil conditions. A numerical simulation of a seven-story isolated building with an EIMD is conducted considering both artificial seismic excitations and real earthquake ground motions. Numerical results show that the EIMD is capable of significantly suppressing the seismic responses of both the base floor and the superstructure, which is better than that of a conventional viscous damper.

This paper presents the probabilistic seismic demand and fragility analyses of a novel mid-rise large-span cassette structure. A newly designed nine-storey office building in Hunan, China, is selected, and its two different design schemes, namely, a traditional frame structure and a novel cassette structure, are examined using numerical models established on the basis of a shake table test. Based on probabilistic seismic theory, the appropriate intensity measures are firstly studied based on a set of 110 seismic records; and PGV and GeoSaavg, which consider the 3D characteristics of the structure, are selected. In addition, the uncertainty of earthquakes, including spectral characteristics, fault distance and input direction, are considered, and 25 seismic records recommended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are selected. An incident angle interval of 22.5° is selected to consider the uncertainty in the input directions of real earthquakes. Incremental dynamic analyses are conducted, and the structural responses in every individual input direction as well as in all the directions are studied. Finally, probabilistic seismic fragility analysis is conducted, and the probabilities of exceeding different limit states of the frame and cassette structures is presented. Amongst the studies, the novel cassette design can not only achieve much larger span, but also shows a better, more stable seismic performance. Therefore, the cassette structure may be a better alternative in seismic design.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) was set up with a vision to drive for excellence of the construction industry in Hong Kong. The CIC encourages and facilitates research activities and the use of innovative techniques for the construction industry, as one of the many functions. The CIC engages consultants, academic institutions, in-house resources, etc., to carry out study and research work on practical construction problems in response to the needs of the construction industry. Recently, work on the development of an App for iPhones for real-time monitoring and assessment of construction-induced vibration and noise, and the application of the maturity method for estimation of concrete strength in concrete structures was completed. In this paper, a detailed description of the laboratory calibration and site validation of the App developed for iPhones for vibration and noise monitoring, and the results obtained, including the setting-up requirements, are presented. This is followed by a discussion of the use of the maturity method for concrete strength measurement. The application of the maturity method to a case, involving installation of temperature sensors to measure the temperature development in a retaining wall structure to estimate the gain in strength, and a detailed interpretation of the results, are given.

Among active, semiactive, and passive vibration isolation methods, active control can provide the best isolation performances. However, high‐energy consumption hinders its wide application...

With increasing transportation speed, the excessive vibrations of high-speed trains (HSTs) have become a critical issue to be solved. This study presents an innovative semiactive suspension system ...

Non-stationary spatially variable ground motions (SVGMs) are commonly modelled as multivariate oscillatory processes based on evolutionary power spectral density (EPSD) functions. The existing conditional simulation algorithms require the known EPSD functions. The EPSD functions are usually assumed to be identical for all locations, which is unreasonable for long-span bridges because variable soil conditions are practically observed at different bridge piers. This paper proposes a conditional simulation algorithm for non-stationary SVGMs in consideration of non-uniform site conditions. The spatial interpolation tool, termed inverse-distance-weighted (IDW) interpolation, is introduced to estimate the EPSD functions at sites without ground motion measurement. Subsequently, the covariance matrix of the random Fourier coefficients of the multivariate oscillatory processes can be calculated. The Kriging estimation is adopted to obtain the unknown random Fourier coefficients, from which the time histories of the non-stationary SVGMs can be conditionally simulated. The proposed conditional simulation algorithm is first validated through a numerical example, in which the EPSD functions of non-uniform sites are represented by a non-stationary Kanai-Tajimi spectrum with different soil parameters. Then, the algorithm is applied to the Jiuzhou Channel Bridge, a navigation channel bridge of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), with complex soil and water conditions. Based on the limited in-situ seismic measurement data, the site characteristics in the bridge area are analysed, and the ground motion time histories at all piers can be generated.

The typhoon-induced vibration characteristics of large wind turbines are significantly different in different travelling stages of typhoons due to the structural complexity of typhoons. Influences of multi-stage typhoon-induced effects on structural safety of wind turbines have not been studied yet. The objective of this paper is to investigate the vibration characteristics of wind turbines in different stages of the typhoon as well as the influencing rules of the structural design standards. For this purpose, a framework was established for predicting multi-stage typhoon-induced effects of large wind turbines, which includes a new typhoon-induced multi-stage wind field simulation method and an advanced multi-body model for large wind turbines. On this basis, aerodynamic loads and dynamic response of large wind turbines during different travelling stages of typhoon were analyzed systematically based on the blade element momentum, multi-body dynamic methods, spectral analysis and data statistics. The working mechanisms of multi-stage effects on vibration characteristics of the large wind turbine were revealed. Finally, an evaluation method of vibration amplification effects for large wind turbines with considerations to multi-stage effects was established. Research results demonstrate that the proposed method can predict vibration characteristics of large wind turbines considering the multi-stage effects efficiently. The multi-stage typhoon-induced effects can influence the value of peak factor and the extremum of wind-induced force and vibration responses of large wind turbines significantly. Conversely, the wind vibration coefficient of structural design was affected slightly. Instead of using a uniform structural design standard for large wind turbines, the influence rule of multi-stage effects on anti-typhoon safety performance was summarized in this paper.

This study presents a new strategy to enhance the seismic performance of self-centering concentrically braced frames (SCCBFs). A hybrid strategy, which combines a SCCBF with a moment-resisting frame or buckling-restrained-braced frame, is first investigated, which show evident reduction in peak deformation demands. This benefit further inspires the design of multi-story pure SCCBFs with the enhanced post-yield stiffness ratio and/or energy dissipation factor directly. Incremental dynamic analyses indicates that the advanced SCCBFs achieve seismic peak deformation control comparable to that of the hybrid systems. Meanwhile, the advanced SCCBFs are nearly damage-free and fully recoverable after significant earthquakes, and thus represents a more favorable strategy from the seismic resilience perspective.

With the increasing construction of large-scale wind turbines in seismically active coastal areas, the survivability of these high-rated-power offshore wind turbines (OWTs) in marine and geological conditions becomes extremely important. Although research on the dynamic behaviors of OWTs under earthquakes has been conducted with consideration of the soil-structure interaction, the attention paid to the impact of earthquake-induced seabed liquefaction on OWTs supported by large-diameter monopiles remains limited. In view of this research gap, this study carries out dynamic analyses of a 10 MW OWT under combined wind, wave, and earthquake loadings. This study uses a pressure-dependent multisurface elastoplastic constitutive model to simulate the soil liquefaction phenomenon. The results indicate that the motion of the large-diameter monopile leads to more extensive soil liquefaction surrounding the monopile, specifically in the zone near the pile toe. Moreover, compared with earthquake loading alone, liquefaction becomes more severe under the coupled wind and earthquake loadings. Accordingly, the dynamic responses of the OWT are apparently amplified, which demonstrates the importance of considering the coupling loadings. Compared with wind loading, the effect of wave loading on the dynamic response and liquefaction potential is relatively insignificant.

Various construction activities (such as piling) often generate high-intensity ground vibrations that adversely affect the surrounding environment. A common way of assessing vibration impact is to conduct on-site ground vibration monitoring at several selected locations. However, as vibration sources are often not pinpointed in the construction process, this approach cannot predict the vibration intensities at locations other than those monitored points. Therefore, the localization of vibration sources (e.g., vibratory sheet pile driving location) is crucial to quantify the corresponding vibration intensities in a broad area. This paper investigates a time-based source localization method based on wave propagation characteristics derived via three-dimensional finite element modeling of vibratory sheet pile driving in an infinite half-space soil domain. Satisfactory accuracy in the localization of the vibratory driving sources was achieved in all investigated numerical examples. Field validation tests were also conducted on a construction site with ongoing vibratory sheet pile driving work. A site-specific empirical formula was adopted to model the attenuation of measured vibration intensities with the increasing distance from the localized vibration source. As such, the combined utilization of the estimated vibration source location and the adopted empirical formula can achieve vibration intensity assessment in a broad surrounding area rather than being confined to a few monitored points.

With the development of optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR)-based distributed strain sensing technology and static influence line (IL) measurement concept, the special influence surface (IS) measurement, a function of sensing and force locations, has become technically feasible. This study investigated, for the first time, damage detection in long-span bridges using the special IS constructed on the basis of the OFDR-based distributed sensing. The damage detection performance of IS was validated through numerical and experimental case studies on a scaled physical Tsing Ma bridge (TMB) model. First, the special IS concept was elaborated. The scaled TMB model was then introduced as a representative long-span bridge. Subsequently, the IS characteristics of different bridge components of the scaled TMB were analyzed using the finite element model (FEM). Various IS-based indices, including strain IS (SIS) and displacement IS (DIS), were applied to hypothetical damage scenarios where the bottom and top chords were subjected to severe damage in the FEM. The extracted ISs successfully realized damage localization with relatively great sensitivities. For comparison, the modal parameters were also output for damage detection. In the experimental section, an OFDR-based distributed sensor was placed along the top chord of one middle grid in the scaled TMB model to construct the SIS. The SIS changes could accurately localize the single, double, and triple bottom-chord damages. The numerical and experimental results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the OFDR-constructed special SIS for damage detection, indicating that IS is a promising damage indicator for long-span bridges, promoting the development of distributed sensing techniques in structural health monitoring for real-bridge applications.

Two types of passive devices, namely, negative stiffness damper (NSD) and inerter damper (ID), have been receiving growing interest in vibration isolation and suppression, because both can produce negative-slope force-displacement relationships that are similar to those associated with active control forces. Despite such a similarity, these two passive dampers possess obvious differences in their mechanical behaviors. This study aims to illustrate the similarity and difference between these two dampers in vibration isolation applications with respect to the H2 and H∞ performance. The comparative study indicates that both dampers can reduce the H∞ norm effectively; the negative stiffness devices can reduce the H2 norm as well, whereas the H2 norm cannot converge under the influence of inerter. This finding explains why a tuned-inerter damper, i.e., an inerter connected in series with a spring with proper frequency tuning, is more commonly adopted in vibration isolation. The pros and cons of both devices were further discussed.

Steel moment-resisting frames are popular structural systems used extensively around the world. However, conventional column base connections are vulnerable to large residual deformation after strong earthquakes. By contrast, shape memory alloys (SMAs), which are high-performance metallic materials, can experience large strains and still recover their initial shape through either heating (shape memory effect) or unloading (superelastic effect). The superelastic behavior of SMAs is appealing to the earthquake engineering community because of the material’s excellent self-centering (SC) and energy dissipation capabilities. In this paper, a novel type of steel columns equipped with NiTi SMA bolts was introduced and its potential for achieving earthquake resilience were investigated. Structural details of the column base and mechanical properties of the SMA bolts were described first. Subsequently, an analytical model of the SC column for different limit states and the corresponding design procedure were presented. The seismic behaviors of two steel column specimens were experimentally tested to investigate the effects of the initial prestrain in the SMA bolts and the axial compressive force in the column under cyclic loading. Results showed that the steel columns equipped with SMA bolts exhibited satisfactory and stable flag-shaped hysteresis loops with excellent SC and moderate energy dissipation capabilities. More importantly, SMA bolts with prestrain could still be tightened after removal of lateral force. Therefore, the proposed SC column could achieve seismic resilience design that requires no (or minimal) repair even after strong earthquakes and remains highly functional for aftershocks or future earthquakes. In addition, the analytical model was verified through a comparison with test results obtained at key limit states.

A hybrid self-centering braced frame equipped with shape memory alloy-based self-centering braces (SMA-SCBs) and viscous dampers is proposed to achieve enhanced seismic performance. Based on the proposed hybrid strategy combining the contributions of SMA-SCBs and viscous dampers, this paper investigates the advantages of such hybrid self-centering braced frames in achieving the desired maximum inter-story drift under a considered seismic intensity. To this end, the influence of design parameters of SMA-SCBs and viscous dampers on hybrid self-centering braced frames is examined through parametric dynamic analyses of equivalent single-degree-of-freedom systems. The analysis results indicate that the post-yield stiffness ratio α and energy dissipation factor β of SMA-SCB, and the contribution of viscous damper show significant influence on the peak displacement responses of hybrid self-centering braced frames. The constant inelastic displacement ratio prediction model for hybrid self-centering braced frames is developed using machine learning algorithms. A performance-based seismic design method is subsequently proposed for the hybrid self-centering braced frames to achieve the target displacement responses based on the developed machine learning models. Two hybrid self-centering braced frames are designed based on the proposed design method. Nonlinear dynamic analyses are conducted to investigate the seismic performance of the designed structures. To highlight the advantages of the hybrid self-centering braced frames, another six-story self-centering braced frame with SMA-SCBs only is also studied in this paper. The analysis results indicate that all the designed hybrid self-centering braced frames can achieve the desired performance objective. Compared to the self-centering braced frame with SMA-SCBs only, the hybrid self-centering braced frames can achieve much smaller base shear demand and absolute floor acceleration responses.

Hydraulic breakers are used widely in construction activities such as rock excavation, building demolition, and pavement crushing. High-level ground-borne vibrations generated by hydraulic ...

With the increasing construction of large-scale wind turbines in seismically active coastal areas, the survivability of these high-rated power offshore wind turbines (OWTs) in marine and geological conditions becomes extremely important. Although research on the dynamic behaviors of OWTs under earthquakes has been conducted in consideration of soil-structure interaction, attention paid to the impact of earthquake-induced seabed liquefaction on OWTs supported by large-diameter monopiles is limited. In view of this research gap, this study carries out dynamic analyses of a 10-MW OWT under the combined wind, wave, and earthquake loadings. This study uses a pressure-dependent multi-surface elastoplastic constitutive model to simulate the soil liquefaction phenomenon. Results indicate that the motion of the large-diameter monopile leads to more extensive soil liquefaction surrounding the monopile, specifically in the zone near the pile toe. Moreover, compared with earthquake loading alone, liquefaction becomes more severe under the coupled wind and earthquake loadings. Accordingly, the dynamic responses of the OWT are apparently amplified, demonstrating the importance of considering the coupling loadings. Compared with wind loading, the effect of wave loading on the dynamic response and liquefaction potential is relatively insignificant.

Electromagnetic damper cum energy harvester (EMDEH) is an emerging dual-function device that enables simultaneous energy harvesting and vibration control. This study presents a novel energy-harvesting adaptive vibration control application of EMDEH on the basis of the past EMDEH development in passive control. The proposed EMDEH comprises an electromagnetic damper connected to a specifically designed energy harvesting circuit (EHC), wherein the EHC is a buck–boost converter with a microcontroller unit (MCU) and a bridge rectifier. The effectiveness of the energy-harvesting adaptive vibration damping is validated numerically through a high-speed train (HST) model running at different speeds. MCU-controlled adaptive duty cycle adjustment in the EHC enables the EMDEHs to adaptively offer the optimal damping coefficients that are highly dependent on train speeds. In the meantime, the harvested power can be stored in rechargeable batteries by the EHC. Numerical results project the average output power ranging from 40.5[Formula: see text]W to 589.8[Formula: see text]W from four EMDEHs at train speed of 100–340[Formula: see text]km/h, with a maximum output power efficiency of approximately 35%. In comparison to energy-harvesting passive vibration control and a pure viscous damper, the proposed energy-harvesting adaptive control strategy can improve vibration reductions by approximately 40% and 27%, respectively, at a speed of 340[Formula: see text]km/h. These numerical results clearly demonstrate the benefit and prospect of the proposed energy-harvesting adaptive vibration control in HST suspensions.

Superelastic shape memory alloys (SMAs) have attracted considerable interest in the field of earthquake engineering recently due to their excellent self-centering and moderate energy dissip...

This paper performs the seismic assessment of novel shape memory alloy (SMA)-based self-centring (SC) eccentrically braced frames (EBFs) by using probabilistic seismic demand analysis (PSDA) and probabilistic seismic fragility analysis (PSFA). The structural finite element models are established based on a previous prototype building and verified through test results. The PSDA is based on a set of 176 seismic records, and Sa avg is chosen as the proper intensity measure for max inter-storey drift ratio (MIDR) and max inter-storey residual drift ratio (MIRR); whereas peak ground acceleration is more suitable for peak floor acceleration (PFA). After the PSDA results are obtained, time-history analyses and PSFA are conducted. Compared with traditional steel EBFs, the SMA-based SC-EBF shows a slight weakness in MIDR due to the comparatively small energy dissipation capacity but has an apparent advantage in controlling MIRR due to a good SC capacity provided by SMA angles. Furthermore, although the steel EBF with fixed column bases has the smallest MIDR, the fixed bases cause extra damage in column bases, which will bring other problems in post-earthquake rebuild and deviate from the design target of concentrating damage in link beams. The variability of the PFA is small, showing that the influence of structural forms on PFA is not apparent. Considering the overall structural seismic performances in terms of MIDR, MIRR and PFA, SMA-based SC-EBF can be a promising alternative in future seismic-resistant designs.