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1. Real-time Hybrid Simulation of Pulse-type Ground Motions Effects on Steel Building with Nonlinear Viscous Dampers

   Dong, B. (June 2022, 12th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering)

   This paper investigates the effects of near-fault pulse-type ground motions on the structural response of a 3-story steel structure with nonlinear viscous dampers using the real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) testing method. The real time loop of action and reaction between the experimental and numerical partitions executed in the RTHS enabled the accurate capturing of the velocity pulse effects of pulse-type ground motions. An ensemble of 10 natural pulse-type ground motions at the design basis earthquake (DBE) level is used for the RTHS. The accuracy of RTHS under high velocity loading is demonstrated, and thereby, is a validated method for experimentally investigation of the complicated structural behavior of structures with rate-dependent damping devices. The test results showed that the dampers are essentially effective in earthquake hazard mitigation effects involving pulse-type ground motions. The average peak story drift ratio under the set of pulse-type ground motions is 1.08% radians with a COV value less than 0.3, which indicates that the investigated structure would achieve the ASCE 7-10 seismic performance objective for Occupancy Category III structures under the DBE level pulse-type ground motions. 

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2. Multi-directional Seismic Behavior Assessment of a Tall Building using Real-Time Hybrid Simulations

   Al-Subaihawi, S. (June 2022, 12th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering)

   Large-scale multi-directional real-time hybrid simulations (RTHS) are used to assess the maximum considered earthquake (MCE) seismic performance of a 40-story steel building equipped with supplemental nonlinear viscous dampers. These dampers are placed between outrigger trusses and the perimeter columns of a building that was part of the inventory for the California Tall Building Initiative (TBI) PEER study. The analytical substructure for the RTHS consists of a 3-D nonlinear model of the building while the experimental substructure consists of a full scale nonlinear viscous damper. Other dampers in the structure are analytically modelled using an online explicit model updating scheme where the physical damper is used to obtain the parameters of the analytical damper models during the RTHS. The displacement, residual drift, and ductility demand are found to be reduced by adding the dampers to the outrigger, but only in the direction of the plane of the outriggers. Higher modes, including torsional modes, contribute to the 3-D seismic response. 

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3. Development of multi-directional real-time hybrid simulation for tall buildings subject to multi-natural hazards

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.118348  

   Al-Subaihawi, Safwan; Ricles, James; Quiel, Spencer; Marullo, Thomas (September 2024, Engineering Structures)

   Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) divides a structural system into analytical and experimental substructures that are coupled through their common degrees of freedom. This paper introduces a framework to enable RTHS to be performed on 3D nonlinear models of tall buildings with rate dependent nonlinear response modification devices, where the structure is subjected to multi-directional wind and earthquake natural hazards. A 40-story tall building prototype with damped outriggers is selected as a case study. The analytical substructure for the RTHS consists of a 3-D nonlinear model of the structure, where each member in the building is discretely modeled in conjunction with the use of a super element. The experimental substructure for the RTHS consists of a full-scale rate-dependent nonlinear viscous damper that is physically tested in the lab, with the remaining dampers in the outrigger system modeled analytically. The analytically modeled dampers use a stable explicit non-iterative element with an online model updating algorithm, by which the covariance matrix of the damper model’s state variables does not become ill-conditioned. The damper model parameters can thereby be updated in real-time using measured data from the experimental substructure. The explicit MKR-α method is optimized and used in conjunction with the super element to efficiently integrate the condensed equations of motion of a large complex model having more than 1000 nonlinear elements, thus enabling multi-axis earthquake and wind hybrid nonlinear simulations to be performed in real-time. An adaptive servo-hydraulic actuator control scheme is used to enable precise real-time actuator displacements in the experimental substructure to be achieved that match the target displacements during a RTHS. The IT real-time architecture for integrating the components of the framework is described. To assess the framework, 3D RTHS of the 40-story structure were performed involving multi-axis translational and torsional response to multi-directional earthquake and wind natural hazards. The RTHS technique was applied to perform half-power tests to experimentally determine the amount of supplemental damping provided by the damped outrigger system for translational and torsional modes of vibration of the building. The results from the study presented herein demonstrate that RTHS can be applied to large nonlinear large structural systems involving multi-axis response to multi-directional excitation. 

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4. Real‐time hybrid simulation of structural systems with soil‐foundation interaction effects using neural networks

   https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.4236  

   Al‐Subaihawi, Safwan; Ricles, James; Quiel, Spencer; Marullo, Thomas; Malik, Faisal (December 2024, Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics)

   Abstract Real‐time hybrid simulation (RTHS) involves dividing a structural system into numerical and experimental substructures. The experimental substructure is challenging to model analytically and is therefore modeled physically in the laboratory. Analytical substructures are conventionally modeled using the finite element method. The two substructures are kinematically linked, and the governing equations of motion are solved in real‐time. Thus, the state determination of the analytical substructure needs to occur within the timestep, which is of the order of a few milliseconds. All structural systems are supported by a soil‐foundation system and any evaluation of the efficacy of response modification devices placed in the structure should consider soil‐foundation structure interaction (SFSI) effects. SFSI adds compliance to a structural system, thereby altering the natural frequencies. Additionally, nonlinear behavior in the soil can result in residual deformations in the foundation and structure, as well as provide added damping. These effects can occur under both wind and earthquake loading. To overcome the barrier of the large computational effort required to model SFSI effects in real‐time using the conventional finite element approach, a neural network (NN) model is combined with an explicit‐based analytical substructure and experimental substructure with dampers to create a framework for performing RTHS with SFSI effects. The framework includes a block of long‐short term memory (LSTM) layers that is combined with a parallel rectified linear unit (ReLU) to form a NN model of the soil‐foundation system. RTHS of a tall 40‐story steel building equipped with nonlinear viscous dampers and subjected to a windstorm are performed to illustrate the framework. It was found that a number of factors have an effect on the quality of RTHS results. These include: (i) the discretization of the wind loading into bins of basic wind speed; (ii) the extent of the NN model training as determined by the root mean square error (RMSE); (iii) noise in the restoring forces produced by the NN model and its interaction with the integration algorithm; and, (iv) the bounding of outliers of the NN model's output. Guidelines for extending the framework for the RTHS of structures subjected to seismic loading are provided. 

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5. Seismic Response of Post-Tensioned Cross-Laminated Timber Rocking Wall Buildings

   https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002673  

   Wilson, A.; Motter, C.; Phillips, A.; Dolan, J. (July 2020, Journal of structural engineering)

   null (Ed.)

   Nonlinear time history analyses were conducted for 5-story and 12-story prototype buildings that used post-tensioned cross-laminated timber rocking walls coupled with U-shaped flexural plates (UFPs) as the lateral force resisting system. The building models were subjected to 22 far-field and 28 near-fault ground motions, with and without directivity effects, scaled to the design earthquake and maximum considered earthquake for Seattle, with ASCE Site Class D. The buildings were designed to performance objectives that limited structural damage to crushing at the wall toes and nonlinear deformation in the UFPs, while ensuring code-based interstory drift requirements were satisfied and the post-tensioned rods remained linear. The walls of the 12-story building had a second rocking joint at midheight to reduce flexural demands in the lower stories and interstory drift in the upper stories. The interstory drift, in-plane wall shear and overturning moment, UFP deformation, and extent of wall toe crushing is summarized for each building. Near-fault ground motions with directivity effects resulted in the largest demands for the 5-story building, while the midheight rocking joint diminished the influence of ground motion directivity effects in the 12-story building. Results for both buildings confirmed that UFPs located higher from the base of the walls dissipated more energy compared to UFPs closer to the base. 

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