Performance-based reliability analysis is a practical approach to investigate the seismic performance and stochastic nonlinear response of structures considering a random process. This is significant due to the uncertainties involved in every aspect of the analysis. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the performance-based reliability within a stochastic finite element (FE) framework for reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls that are considered as one of the most essential elements of structures. To accomplish this purpose, deterministic FE analyses are conducted for both squat and slender shear walls to validate numerical models through experimental results. The presented numerical analysis is performed by using the ABAQUS FE program. Afterwards, a random-effects investigation is carried out to consider the influence of different random variables on the lateral load-top displacement behavior of RC members. Using these results and through utilizing the Monte-Carlo simulation method, stochastic nonlinear analyses are also performed to generate random FE models based on input parameters and their probabilistic distributions. In order to evaluate the reliability of RC walls, failure probabilities and corresponding reliability indices are calculated at life safety and collapse prevention levels of performance as suggested by FEMA 356. Moreover, based on reliability indices, capacity reduction factors are determined subjected to shear for all specimens that are designed according to the ACI 318 Building Code. Obtained results show that the lateral load and the compressive strength of concrete have the highest effects on load-displacement responses compared to those of other random variables. It is also found that the probability of shear failure for the squat wall is slightly lower than that for slender walls. This implies that 𝛽 values are higher in a non-ductile mode of failure. Besides, the reliability of both squat and slender shear walls does not change significantly in the case of varying capacity reduction factors.

In this study, a relationship between the resonance frequency ratio and Poisson's ratio was proposed that can be used to directly determine the elastic constants. Using this relationship, the frequency ratio between the 1st bending mode and 2nd bending mode for any rectangular Timoshenko beam can be directly estimated and used to determine the elastic constants efficiently. The exact solution of the Timoshenko beam vibration frequency equation under free-free boundary conditions was determined with an accurate shear shape factor. The highest percent difference for the frequency ratio between the theoretical values and the estimated values for all the beam dimensions studied was less than 0.02%. The proposed equations were used to obtain the elastic constants of beams with different material properties and dimensions using the first two measured transverse bending frequencies. Results show that using the equations proposed in this study, the Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of rectangular Timoshenko beams can be determined more efficiently and accurately than those obtained from industry standards such as ASTM E1876-15 without the need to test the torsional vibration.

A GN model with and without energy dissipations is used to discuss the waves propagation in a two-dimension orthotropic half space by the eigenvalues approach. Using the Laplace-Fourier integral transforms to get the solutions of the problem analytically, the basic formulations of the two-dimension problem are given by matrices-vectors differential forms, which are then solved by the eigenvalues scheme. Numerical techniques are used for the inversion processes of the Laplace-Fourier transform. The results for physical quantities are represented graphically. The numerical outcomes show that the characteristic time of pulse heat flux have great impacts on the studied fields values.

The building design codes and standards in many countries usually are either fully or partially adopted from the international codes. However, regional conditions like the quality of construction industry and different statistical parameters of load and resistance have essential roles in the code calibration of building design codes. This paper presents a probabilistic approach to assess the reliability level of adopted national building codes by simulating design situations and considering all load combinations. The impact of the uncertainty of wind and earthquake loads, which are entirely regional condition dependent and have a high degree of uncertainty, are quantified. In this study, the design situation is modeled by generating thousands of numbers for load effect ratios, and the reliability level of steel elements for all load combinations and different load ratios is established and compared to the target reliability. This approach is applied to the Iranian structural steel code as a case study. The results indicate that the Iranian structural steel code lacks safety in some load combinations, such as gravity and earthquake load combinations, and is conservative for other load combinations. The present procedure can be applied to the assessment of the reliability level of other national codes.

The present study aims to understand the behaviour of low-strength masonry prisms constructed with locally-produced low-strength hollow concrete blocks. Compression tests were conducted on masonry prisms constructed with three different mortar grades of cement-sand ratios of 1:3, 1:4.5 and 1:6 representing strong, moderately strong and weak mortar. Stress-strain curves were generated from the test results for the masonry prisms. The hollow concrete masonry units employed in this study are some of the weakest as compared to other masonry units employed by other researchers. The compressive strengths for masonry prisms with mortar grades 1:3, 1:4.5 and 1:6 are 2.21 MPa, 2.19 MPa and 2.25 MPa respectively. The results indicate that the masonry compressive strength of such low-strength hollow concrete block masonry prisms is not influenced by the mortar strength. Simple relationships to estimate the modulus of elasticity and compressive strength of masonry prisms is also proposed.

The paper aims at improving the understanding and mitigating the effects of tunnel fires that may breakout due to the burning fuel and/or explosion within the tunnel. This study particularly focuses on the behavior of the commonly used horse shoe geometry of tunnel systems. The problem has been obtained using an adequate well-established program incorporating the Lagrangian approach. A transient-thermo-coupled static structural analysis is carried out. The effects of radiation and convection to the outer walls of the tunnel is studied. The paper also presents the impact of the hazard on the structural integrity of the tunnel. A methodology is proposed to study the tunnel fire using a model which uses equivalent steel sheet to represent the presence of reinforcements to improve the computational efficiency with adequate validation. A parametric study has been carried out and the effect of suitable lining property for mitigating the fire hazard is arrived at. Detailed analysis is done for the threshold limits of the properties of the lining material to check if it is acceptable in all aspects for the integrity of the tunnel. The study may prove useful for developing insights for ensuring tunnel fire safety. To conduct such studies experimentally are tremendously costly but are required to gain confidence. But, scaled models, as well as loading and testing conditions, cannot be studied by many trials experimentally as the cost will shoot up sharply. In this context, the results obtained from such computational studies with a feasible variation of various combinations of parameters may act as a set of guidelines to freeze the adequate combination of various parameters to conduct one or two costly experiments for confidence building.

This paper presents a multiple parameters-based recursive methodology for the reliability quantification of civil structures subjected to meteorological disasters. Recognizing the challenge associated with characterizing at a single stroke all the meteorological disasters that may hit a structure during its service life, the proposed methodology by contrast features a multiparameter recursive mechanism to describe the meteorological demand of the structure. The benefit of the arrangements is that the essentially inevitable deviation of the practically observed meteorological data from those in the existing model can be mitigated in an adaptive manner. In particular, the implications of potential climate change to the relevant reliability of civil structures are allowed for. The application of the formulated methodology of recursive reliability quantification is illustrated by first considering the reliability quantification of a linear shear frame against simulated strong wind loads. A parametric study is engaged in this application to examine the effect of some hyperparameters in the configured hierarchical model. Further, the application is extended to a nonlinear hysteretic shear frame involving some field-observed cyclone data, and the incompleteness of the relevant structural diagnosis data that may arise in reality is taken into account. Also investigated is another application scenario where the reliability of a building envelope is assessed under hailstone impacts, and the emphasis is to demonstrate the recursive incorporation of newly obtained meteorological data.

In this work, mathematical modeling of the passive vibration controls of a three-layered sandwich beam under hard excitation is developed. Kelvin-Voigt Viscoelastic model is considered in the core. The formulation is based on the higher-order zig-zag theories where the normal and shear deformations are taken into account only in the viscoelastic core. The dynamic behaviour of the beam is represented by a complex highly nonlinear ordinary differential equation. The method of multiple scales is adopted to solve the analytical frequency-amplitude relationships in the super-harmonic resonance case. Parametric studies are carried out by using HSDT and first-order deformation theory by considering different geometric and material parameters.

The objective of seismic resilience is to maintain or rapidly restore the function of a building after an earthquake. An efficient tilt mechanism at the member level is crucial for the restoration of the main structure function; however, the damage resistance of the members should be the main focus. In this study, through a comparison with the classical Flamant theory of local loading in the elastic half-space, an elastomechanical solution for the axial-stress distribution of a reinforced-concrete (RC) rocking column was derived. Furthermore, assuming that the lateral displacement of the rocking column is determined by the contact surface rotation angle of the column end and bending and shear deformation of the column body, the load-lateral displacement mechanical model of the RC rocking column was established and validated through a comparison with finite-element simulation results. The axial-compression ratio and column-end strength were analyzed, and the results indicated that on the premise of column damage resistance, simply increasing the axial-compression ratio increases the lateral loading capacity of the column but is ineffective for improving the lateral-displacement capacity. The lateral loading and displacement of the column are significantly improved as the strength of the column end material increases. Therefore, it is feasible to improve the working performance of RC rocking columns via local reinforcement of the column end.

Suspension bridges bear large eccentric live loads in rush hours when most vehicles travel in one direction on the left or right side of the bridge. With the increasing number and weight of vehicles and the girder widening, the eccentric live load effect on the bridge behavior, including bending and distortion of the main girder, gets more pronounced, even jeopardizing bridge safety. This study proposes an analytical algorithm based on multi-catenary theory for predicting the suspension bridge responses to eccentric live load via the nonlinear generalized reduced gradient method. A set of governing equations is derived to solve the following unknown values: the girder rigid-body displacement in the longitudinal direction; the horizontal projection lengths of main cable's segments; the parameters of catenary equations and horizontal forces of the side span cable segments and the leftmost segments of middle span cables; the suspender tensions and the bearing reactions. Then girder's responses, including rigid-body displacement in the longitudinal direction, deflections, and torsion angles; suspenders' responses, including the suspender tensions and the hanging point displacements; main cables' responses, including the horizontal forces of each segment; and the longitudinal displacement of the pylons' tower top under eccentric load can be calculated. The response of an exemplar suspension bridge with three spans of 168, 548, and 168 m is calculated by the proposed analytical method and the finite element method in two eccentric live load cases, and their results prove the former's feasibility. The nonuniform distribution of the live load in the lateral direction is shown to impose a greater threat to suspension bridge safety than that in the longitudinal direction, while some other specific features revealed by the proposed method are discussed in detail.