• Computers and Concrete
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2013

In this study, dynamic characteristics such as natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios of RC frame is determined for different construction stages using Operational Modal Analyses method under ambient vibration. Full scaled, one bay and one story RC frames are selected as an application for different construction stages such as plane, brick in-filled and brick in-filled with plaster. The RC frame is vibrated by natural excitations with small impact effects and the response signals are measured using sensitive accelerometers during ambient vibration tests. Measurement time-frequency span and effective mode number are determined by considering similar studies in literature. Sensitive seismic accelerometers are used to collect signals obtained from the experimental tests. To obtain experimental dynamic characteristics, output-only system identification technique is employed namely; Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition technique in the frequency domain. It is demonstrated that the ambient vibration measurements are enough to identify the most significant modes of RC frames.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.455-475
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• 2016

Dynamic characteristics, named as natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes, affect the dynamic behavior of buildings and they vary depending on the construction stages. It is aimed to present the effects of construction stages on the dynamic characteristics of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings considering theoretical and experimental investigations. For this purpose, a three-storey RC building model with a 1/2 scale was constructed in the laboratory of Civil Engineering Department at Karadeniz Technical University. The modal testing measurements were performed by using Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) method for the bare frame, brick walled and coated cases of the building model. Randomly generated loads by impact hammer were used to vibrate the building model; the responses were measured by uni-axial seismic accelerometers as acceleration. The building's modal parameters at these construction stages were extracted from the processed signals using the Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD) technique. Also, the finite element models of each case were developed and modal analyses were performed. It was observed from the experimental and theoretical investigations that the natural frequencies of the building model varied depending on the construction stages considerably.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.327-335
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• 2018

This paper presents structural assessment of a steel railway bridge for current condition using modal parameter to upgrade finite element modeling in order to gather accurate result. An adequate monitoring, such as acceleration, displacement, strain monitoring, is important tool to understand behavior and to assess structural performance of the structure under surround vibration by means of the dynamic analysis. Evaluation of conditions of an existing steel railway bridge consist of 4 decks, three of them are 14 m, one of them is 9.7 m, was performed with a numerical analysis and a series of dynamic tests. Numerical analysis was performed implementing finite element model of the bridge using SAP2000 software. Dynamic tests were performed by collecting acceleration data caused by surrounding vibrations and dynamic analysis is performed by Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) using collected acceleration data. The acceleration response of the steel bridge is assumed to be governing response quantity for structural assessment and provide valuable information about the current statute of the structure. Modal identification determined based on response of the structure play significant role for upgrading finite element model of the structure and helping structural evaluation. Numerical and experimental dynamic properties are compared and finite element model of the bridge is updated by changing of material properties to reduce the differences between the results. In this paper, an existing steel railway bridge with four spans is evaluated by finite element model improved using operational modal analysis. Structural analysis performed for the bridge both for original and calibrated models, and results are compared. It is demonstrated that differences in natural frequencies are reduced between 0.2% to 5% by calibrating finite element modeling and stiffness properties.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.497-501
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• 2009

When modal tests on the large structures and machinery are performed, it is in general difficult and inaccurate to use artificial excitation devices such as impact hammers, because of insufficient capacity of the device and different environmental conditions of the concerned structures. Therefore, the Operational Modal Analysis(OMA) technique, which is performed by measuring only vibration responses during the operation of the objective product, can be one alternative. In this paper, the way to identify natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios of a ship by using the OMA during the sea trail is described.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.2297-2302
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• 2010

The status and effectiveness of Bi-modal Tram is analyzed through the comparison of the transport effectiveness and operation cost between the public transportation systems (bus, light rail transit) considering the vehicle and operation characteristic of new transit system Bi-modal Tram. The standard operation schedule is established in consideration of the vehicle specification and operation characteristic of main public transportation modes, and then the annual average operation cost is estimated depending on the volume, speed, analysis length for respective public transportation mode. Through analyzing the operation cost and distribution characteristic of public transportation modes depending on the transport volume and travel speed, the operational efficiency suitable for the city is derived. It is concluded that the operational efficiency of Bi-modal Tram is superior to that of the bus and light rail transit on the aspect of travel volume and operation speed.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.641-648
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• 2021

In this article, the dynamic parameters (frequencies, mode shapes, damping ratios) of the scaled concrete structure and the dynamic parameters (frequencies, mode shapes, damping ratios) of the entire outer surface of titanium dioxide, 80 micron in thickness are compared using operational modal analysis method. Ambient excitation was provided from micro tremor ambient vibration data on ground level. Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD) was used for the output only modal identification. From this study, a good correlation between mode shapes was found. Titanium dioxide applied to the entire outer surface of the scaled concrete structure has an average of 11.78% difference in frequency values and 10.15% in damping ratios, proving that nanomaterials can be used to increase rigidity in structures, in other words, for reinforcement. Another important result determined in the study was the observation of the adherence of titanium dioxide and similar nanomaterials mentioned in the introduction to concrete structure surfaces was at the highest level.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.115-132
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• 2015

This paper presents a new method for seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings with reference to their operational limit state. The importance of this kind of evaluation arises from the civil protection necessity that some buildings, considered strategic for seismic emergency management, should retain their functionality also after a destructive earthquake. The method is based on the identification of experimental modal parameters from ambient vibrations measurements. The knowledge of the experimental modes allows to perform a linear spectral analysis computing the maximum structural drifts of the building caused by an assigned earthquake. Operational condition is then evaluated by comparing the maximum building drifts with the reference value assigned by the Italian Technical Code for the operational limit state. The uncertainty about the actual building seismic frequencies, typically significantly lower than the ambient ones, is explicitly taken into account through a probabilistic approach that allows to define for the building the Operational Index together with the Operational Probability Curve. The method is validated with experimental seismic data from a permanently monitored public building: by comparing the probabilistic prediction and the building experimental drifts, resulting from three weak earthquakes, the reliability of the method is confirmed. Finally an application of the method to a strategic building in Italy is presented: all the procedure, from ambient vibrations measurement, to seismic input definition, up to the computation of the Operational Probability Curve is illustrated.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.21-44
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• 2014

The aim of this study is to determine the dynamic characteristics of long reinforced concrete highway bridges with post-tension tendons using analytical and experimental methods. It is known that the deck length and height of bridges are affected the dynamic characteristics considerably. For this purpose, Berta Bridge constructed in deep valley, in Artvin, Turkey, is selected as an application. The Bridge has two piers with height of 109.245 m and 85.193 m, and the total length of deck is 340.0 m. Analytical and experimental studies are carried out on Berta Bridge which was built in accordance with the balanced cantilever method. Finite Element Method (FEM) and Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) which considers ambient vibration data were used in analytical and experimental studies, respectively. Finite element model of the bridge is created by using SAP2000 program to obtain analytical dynamic characteristics such as the natural frequencies and mode shapes. The ambient vibration tests are performed using Operational Modal Analysis under wind and human loads. Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD) and Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) methods are used to obtain experimental dynamic characteristics like natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios. At the end of the study, analytical and experimental dynamic characteristic are compared with each other and the finite element model of the bridge was updated considering the material properties and boundary conditions. It is emphasized that Operational Modal Analysis method based on the ambient vibrations can be used safely to determine the dynamic characteristics, to update the finite element models, and to monitor the structural health of long reinforced concrete highway bridges constructed with the balanced cantilever method.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.209-230
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• 2016

The Canton Tower is a high-rise slender structure with a height of 610 m. A structural health monitoring system has been instrumented on the structure, by which data is continuously monitored. This paper presents an investigation on the identified modal properties of the Canton Tower using ambient vibration data collected during a whole day (24 hours). A recently developed Fast Bayesian FFT method is utilized for operational modal analysis on the basis of the measured acceleration data. The approach views modal identification as an inference problem where probability is used as a measure for the relative plausibility of outcomes given a model of the structure and measured data. Focusing on the first several modes, the modal properties of this supertall slender structure are identified on non-overlapping time windows during the whole day under normal wind speed. With the identified modal parameters and the associated posterior uncertainty, the distribution of the modal parameters in the future is predicted and assessed. By defining the modal root-mean-square value in terms of the power spectral density of modal force identified, the identified natural frequencies and damping ratios versus the vibration amplitude are investigated with the associated posterior uncertainty considered. Meanwhile, the correlations between modal parameters and temperature, modal parameters and wind speed are studied. For comparison purpose, the frequency domain decomposition (FDD) method is also utilized to identify the modal parameters. The identified results obtained by the Bayesian method, the FDD method and a finite element model are compared and discussed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.45-57
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• 2020

This paper presents the experimental application of a new method for seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings recently introduced in literature, the SMAV (Seismic Model Ambient Vibration) methodology with reference to their operational limit state. The importance of this kind of evaluation arises from the civil protection necessity that some buildings, considered strategic for seismic emergency management, should retain their functionality also after a destructive earthquake. They do not suffer such damage as to compromise the operation within a framework of assessment of the overall capacity of the urban system. To this end, for the characterization of their operational vulnerability, a Structural Operational Index (IOPS) has been considered. In particular, the dynamic environmental vibrations of the two considered strategic buildings, the fire station and the town hall building of a small town in the South of Italy, have been monitored by positioning accelerometers in well-defined points. These measurements were processed through modern Operational Modal Analysis techniques (OMA) in order to identify natural frequencies and modal shapes. Once these parameters have been determined, the structural operational efficiency index of the buildings has been determined evaluating the seismic vulnerability of the strategic structures analyzed. his study aimed to develop a model to accurately predict the acceleration of structural systems during an earthquake.