Exploring Seismic Reliability, AI-Based Analysis, Functional Recovery and Practical Design of Earthquake-Resilient Structures

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2024) | Viewed by 2617

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
Interests: earthquake engineering & structural dynamics; seismic resilience; design of innovative sustainable structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Earthquakes pose a serious threat to the safety and sustainability of buildings and infrastructure. To mitigate the seismic risk and enhance the resilience of the built environment, it is essential to develop and implement innovative structural systems that can resist and recover from earthquake-induced damage. These systems are referred to as Earthquake-Resilient Systems (ERSs). This issue welcomes papers that address the critical aspects of ERSs, such as:

  • Artificial intelligent (AI)-based evaluation and design of ERSs;
  • Reliability analysis and optimization methods for ERSs;
  • Loss assessment and functional recovery evaluation of ERSs;
  • Practical seismic design principles and guidelines for ERSs;
  • Critical reviews of existing ERS technologies and challenges;
  • Rapid post-earthquake recovery strategies using ERS techniques.

The issue covers a wide range of structural systems and components with steel, concrete, timber, and other advanced materials that can improve the resilience of buildings and bridges, such as:

  • Self-centering buildings;
  • Rocking-core archetypes;
  • Mixed sustainable rocking-cores archetypes;
  • Hybrid isolated structures;
  • Low-damage bridges;
  • Self-centering devices;
  • Resilient non-structural components;
  • Ladder reparable frames;
  • Dampers fabricated from post-tensioning cables, shape memory alloy (SMA) bars, friction springs, etc.

The issue encourages papers that explore experimental and novel theoretical and computational solutions for fostering collaboration among experts to advance the field of resiliency.

Dr. Navid Rahgozar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • artificial-intelligence-based analysis
  • structural optimization
  • practical seismic design
  • reliability and optimization
  • functional recovery assessment
  • self-centering archetypes
  • resilient structures

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 5718 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Flexural Strengthening of Precast Concrete Corbel Connections with Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Sheet
by Nima Rahgozar and Navid Rahgozar
Buildings 2024, 14(2), 387; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020387 - 1 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 806
Abstract
This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical investigations aimed at enhancing the flexural capacity of Precast Concrete Corbel Beam–Column Connections (PC-CBCCs) using Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) sheets. The experimental study primarily focused on assessing the flexural capacity of pinned PC-CBCCs reinforced with [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical investigations aimed at enhancing the flexural capacity of Precast Concrete Corbel Beam–Column Connections (PC-CBCCs) using Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) sheets. The experimental study primarily focused on assessing the flexural capacity of pinned PC-CBCCs reinforced with FRP layers, comparing them to a moment-resisting connection. A series of half-scale specimens, including three PC-CBCCs with varying FRP configurations, were tested alongside one in situ concrete fixed connection. The first specimen (PC-1) utilized L-shaped and full-wrap FRPs, whereas PC-2 and PC-3 employed both U-shaped and full-wrap layers. The objective is to quantify the ultimate flexural capacity of PC-CBCCs reinforced by FRP sheets. In PC-3, the external anchorage is introduced to assess its influence on delaying the FRP layer debonding under lateral loading. The effects of the FRP layer thickness, locations, and potential debonding are examined under unidirectional static tests while applying a constant axial compressive load to the columns and subjecting the beams to lateral loads until fracture. The test results illustrate that strengthening the corbel connection with L-shaped FRP or spiral U-shaped FRP sheets without mechanical anchorage cannot result in a significant bending capacity due to debonding. However, with the incorporation of mechanical anchors, the connection manages to enhance the moment capacity to 81% of a fixed connection’s flexural capacity. Additionally, a finite element model of the PC-CBCCs and a fixed joint is developed to simulate nonlinear static analyses of the connections using ANSYS 19.2 software. The simulation model is precise in predicting the initial stiffness and ultimate capacity of the beam–column joints, as verified by the experimental results. A comprehensive comparison is conducted to determine their responses by employing various FRP configurations and properties. Moreover, design parameters such as bond length and thickness of the FRP sheets, along with appropriate mechanical anchorage, are identified as effective in preventing debonding, and delamination. However, wrapping the beam far away from the joint interface has a minimal impact on the failure mode, stress reduction, and load-bearing capacity. Full article
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Review

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32 pages, 1523 KiB  
Review
Developments in Quantifying the Response Factors Required for Linear Analytical and Seismic Design Procedures
by Nadeem Hussain, Shahria Alam and Aman Mwafy
Buildings 2024, 14(1), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14010247 - 16 Jan 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1293
Abstract
Despite the recent initiatives and developments in building design provisions using performance-based design, practicing engineers frequently adopt force-based design approaches, irrespective of the structural system or building irregularity. Modern seismic building codes adopt the concept of simplifying the complex nonlinear response of a [...] Read more.
Despite the recent initiatives and developments in building design provisions using performance-based design, practicing engineers frequently adopt force-based design approaches, irrespective of the structural system or building irregularity. Modern seismic building codes adopt the concept of simplifying the complex nonlinear response of a structure under seismic loading to an equivalent linear response through elastic analytical procedures using seismic design response factors. Nevertheless, code-recommended seismic design response factors may not result in a cost-effective design with a uniform margin of safety for different structural systems. Previous studies also adopted different methodologies for quantifying the seismic response factors. Hence, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive review covering the developments in quantifying these vital design factors. This paper presents a systematic review of the response factors used with linear analytical procedures recommended by modern building design provisions and the techniques employed in previous studies to evaluate these factors using SDOF and MDOF systems covering analytical, experimental and hybrid assessment approaches. Limitations and gaps identified from the previous studies indicated that most investigations focused on 2D analysis and regular low-rise buildings, while limited studies were directed to shear wall structures, considering mostly unidirectional seismic loading. This comparative review provides insights into previous studies’ methodologies and constraints and identifies the need for future research to calibrate seismic response factors to achieve more economical designs with consistent safety margins for different structural systems. Full article
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