• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.287-299
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of damped cable systems (DCS) to mitigate the earthquake-induced responses of a building frame structure. The seismic performance of the DCS is investigated using the fragility analysis and life cycle cost evaluation of an existing building retrofitted with the DCS, and the results are compared with the structure retrofitted with conventional fluid viscous dampers. The comparison of the analysis results reveals that, due to the self-centering capability of the DCS, residual displacement approximately reaches to zero for the structure retrofitted with the DCS. The fragility analysis shows that the structure retrofitted with the DCS has the least probability of reaching the specific limit states compared to the bare structure and the structure with the conventional fluid viscous damper (VD), especially under the severe ground motions. It is also observed that both the initial and the life cycle costs of the DCS seismic retrofitting technique is lesser compare to the structure retrofitted with the VD.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.125-146
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• 2005

The objective of this paper is setting out, for a cable-stayed bridge with a curtain suspension, a method to determine the modes of vibration of the structure. The system of differential equations governing the vibrations of the bridge, derived by means of a variational formulation in a nonlinear field, is reported in Appendix C. The whole analysis results from the application of Hamilton's principle, using the expressions of potential and kinetic energies and of the virtual work made by viscous damping forces of the various parts of the bridge (Monaco and Fiore 2003). This paper focuses on the equation concerning the transversal motion of the girder of the cable-stayed bridge and in particular on its final form obtained, restrictedly to the linear case, neglecting some quantities affecting the solution in a non-remarkable way. In the hypotheses of normal mode of vibration and of steady-state, we propose the resolution of this equation by a particular method based on a numerical approach. Respecting the boundary conditions, we derive, for each mode of vibration, the corresponding frequency, both natural and damped, the shape-function of the girder axis and the exponential function governing the variability of motion amplitude in time. Finally the results so obtained are compared with those deriving from the dynamic analysis performed by a finite elements calculation program.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.61-82
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• 2007

This paper presents a novel finite element (FE) model for analyzing coupled flutter of long-span bridges using the commercial FE package ANSYS. This model utilizes a specific user-defined element Matrix27 in ANSYS to model the aeroelastic forces acting on the bridge, wherein the stiffness and damping matrices are expressed in terms of the reduced wind velocity and flutter derivatives. Making use of this FE model, damped complex eigenvalue analysis is carried out to determine the complex eigenvalues, of which the real part is the logarithm decay rate and the imaginary part is the damped vibration frequency. The condition for onset of flutter instability becomes that, at a certain wind velocity, the structural system incorporating fictitious Matrix27 elements has a complex eigenvalue with zero or near-zero real part, with the imaginary part of this eigenvalue being the flutter frequency. Case studies are provided to validate the developed procedure as well as to demonstrate the flutter analysis of cable-supported bridges using ANSYS. The proposed method enables the bridge designers and engineering practitioners to analyze flutter instability by using the commercial FE package ANSYS.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.171-193
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• 2014

The dynamic characterization is important in making accurate predictions of the seismic response of the hybrid structures dominated by different damping mechanisms. Different damping characteristics arise from the construction of hybrid structure with different materials: steel for the upper part; reinforced concrete for the lower main part and interaction with supporting soil. The process of modeling damping matrices and experimental verification is challenging because damping cannot be determined via static tests as can mass and stiffness. The assumption of classical damping is not appropriate if the system to be analyzed consists of two or more parts with significantly different levels of damping. The dynamic response of structures is critically determined by the damping mechanisms, and its value is very important for the design and analysis of vibrating structures. A numerical algorithm capable of evaluating the equivalent modal damping ratio from structural components is desirable for improving seismic design. Two approaches are considered to explore the dynamic response of hybrid tower of cable-stayed bridges: The first approach makes use of a simplified model of 2 coupled lumped masses to investigate the effects of subsystems different damping, mass ratio, frequency ratio on dynamic characteristics and equivalent modal damping; the second approach employs a detailed numerical step-by step integration procedure.