Quasi-Static Testing of RC Infilled Frames and Confined Stone-Concrete Bearing Walls

This article presents an experimental investigation of the seismic performance of gravity load-designed RC infilled frames and confined bearing walls of limestone masonry backed with plain concrete. Five infilled frames and two bearing walls were constructed at one-third scale and tested using reversed cyclic lateral loading and constant axial loads. Effects of openings, axial loading, and infill interface conditions were examined using quasi-static experimentation. The two structural systems exhibited similar lateral resistance and energy dissipation capacities with higher global displacement ductility for the infilled frames. Hysteretic behavior of the infilled frame models exhibited pinching of the hysteretic loops accompanied by extensive degradation of stiffness whereas loops of the bearing walls were free of pinching. Test results confirmed the beneficial effect of axial loading on lateral resistance, energy dissipation, and ductility of the bearing walls. Higher axial loading resulted in a substantial decrease in ductility with no significant effect on lateral resistance of the infilled frames. Openings within the infill panel reduced significantly the lateral resistance of infilled frames. Using dowels at the infill panel interfaces with the base block and bounding columns enhanced the maximum load-carrying capacity of infilled frames without impairing their ductility.     

Measuring reduction in stone tools: an ethnoarchaeological study of Gamo hidescrapers from Ethiopia

Stone tools were knapped, not built. This truism means that tools were reduced from larger pieces in the production process. But many tools were further reduced in use, to repair damage or as edges dulled. Reduction reduced size (trivially), but also changed the proportions among tools' elements or dimensions. Such allometric variation (change in proportion as a function of change in size) is useful to estimate the degree of reduction that tools experienced. Reduction itself is a measure of curation, a theoretical concept of great interest in lithic studies and Paleolithic archaeology. To determine the reduction that archaeological tools experienced, we must compare their size and proportions at first use to the same properties at discard that we directly measure. By now many size estimates can be made from discarded tools. Some are experimentally tested but few are validated using direct ethnoarchaeological controls. We validate two allometric reduction measures—ratios of plan area to thickness and of an estimate of original to discarded volume—against direct measures of use and reduction in ethnographic Gamo hidescrapers from Ethiopia.     

从"圣·迭戈"号沉船考古看海上的社会生活

对古代航海船只上社会群体生活状况的研究是社会史研究的重要课题,也是人类航海史研究不可或缺的内涵构成。但由于资料的缺乏,海上社会生活研究一直没有得到足够的关注。近些年来,由于考古工作者对沉船的科学发掘及对生活遗迹与遗物的详细纪录,使得古代海上社会生活的研究获得越来越丰富的资料。本文以"圣·迭哥"号沉船考古发现为基础,并结合文献资料、航海日记以及其他古代沉船的相关信息,对古代海上社会群体的生活状况以及社会关系进行了复原与探讨,以期能为海上社会生活史的深入研究做基础性的工作。     

Application of Wavelet Transforms on Characterization of Inelastic Displacement Ratio Spectra for Pulse-Like Ground Motions

In this article, a simple and effective wavelet-based procedure is implemented for describing principle features of a special class of motions, pulse-like ground motions, on inelastic displacement ratio spectra (IDRS). The computed spectra supply a simple estimation of maximum inelastic displacement demand from the corresponding elastic one. The results of analysis in this work provide a suitable platform for quantification of pulse effects into IDRS and highlight the need to better understanding of this effect on demand estimation. It is concluded that the pulse has a significant influence on IDRS of pulse-like ground motions for systems with high ductility level.     

Experimental Study on Seismic Performance of Mechanical/Electrical Equipment with Vibration Isolation Systems

A prototype diesel generator equipped with a vibration isolation system consisting of restrained isolators (denoted as I/system) is quasi-statically and dynamically tested. Sequentially, the seismic simulation tests are conducted to further investigate the effectiveness of additional snubbers incorporated into the vibration isolation system (denoted as I/R system). Comparing the test results to the static design demands specified in ASCE 7-10, the recommended component amplification factor could represent the horizontal acceleration amplification phenomenon of the generator equipped with I/R system; however, the seismic force demands for static design of I/R system might not be appropriate and conservative enough.     

Seismic Performance Assessment of Slender T-Shaped Reinforced Concrete Walls

T-shaped slender reinforced concrete (RC) structural walls are commonly used in medium-rise and high-rise buildings as part of lateral force resisting system. Compared to its popularity, experimental results on seismic performance of these walls are relatively sparse, especially for data regarding these walls in the non-principal bending directions. This article aims at providing additional experimental evidence on seismic performance of T-shaped RC structural walls. Experimental results of six T-shaped RC walls were presented. These walls resemble the structural walls found in existing buildings in Singapore and possess slightly inferior details compared to the requirements of modern design codes. The test variables were the loading direction and the axial load ratio. The experimental results were discussed in terms of the failure mechanisms, cracking patterns, hysteretic responses, curvature distributions, displacement components, and strain profiles. In addition, the experimental results were compared with methods commonly adopted in current design practice including the nonlinear section analyses, shear strength models and effective width of the tension flange. The experimental data illustrate that the shear lag effect not only was not accurately accounted for by the effective width method but also significantly affected the strength and stiffness of the tested specimens.     

基于SD法的公园景观综合感知研究——以福州市为例

本文以福州市主要的几个城市公园为研究样本,运用SD法,将声、味环境因素纳入公园景观的感知研究中,就声、味环境因素对评价者公园景观视觉感知的影响进行定量分析,揭示影响规律;并结合因子分析法,进行主要影响因子提取,为人性化的公园景观研究与设计提供参考。结果表明：声、味环境对评价者公园景观的视觉感知产生了明显的影响,且负面因素产生的影响比正面因素更为显著;声、味环境因素对于不同的公园景观视觉效果评价要素和因子的影响有所不同,心理要素和整体要素受影响程度最为显著,其次为环境要素;声、味环境因素影响下的公园景观视觉效果由形式因子、协调因子、空间因子、生态因子、污染因子、特色因子、认同因子和安全因子等8个评价轴构成。     

EDXRF探针分析古瓷产地的尝试

由于古汝瓷原料产地的信息能为汝瓷科技鉴定工作提供可靠的借鉴,本工作采用EDXRF探针技术测试了若干汝瓷和钧瓷等样品中的常量元素及微量元素。再利用多元统计中的因子分析处理成分数据,对各样品的因子得分用因子轮廓图和聚类分析图来表示。结果表明,新安钧瓷、古汝瓷和现代仿汝瓷能较好地加以区分,金钧和元钧能从釉的微量元素上加以区分,严和店窑青瓷也能和其他样品区分开。这说明上述两种数据处理方法相结合能较好地反映出样品中所隐含的产地信息,从而为汝瓷科技鉴定和其他古陶瓷的产地分析提供了参考。     

Probabilistic Calibration and Experimental Validation of the Seismic Design Criteria for One-Story Concrete Frames

This article investigates the seismic performance of one-story reinforced concrete structures for industrial buildings. To this aim, the seismic response of two structural prototypes, a cast-in-situ monolithic frame and a precast hinged frame, is compared for four different levels of translatory stiffness and seismic capacity. For these structures an incremental nonlinear dynamic analysis is performed within a Monte Carlo probabilistic simulation. The results obtained from the probabilistic analysis prove that precast structures have the same seismic capacity of the corresponding cast-in-situ structures and confirm the overall goodness of the design criteria proposed by Eurocode 8, even if a noteworthy dependency of the actual structural behavior from the prescribed response spectrum is pointed out.

The experimental verification of these theoretical results is searched for by means of pseudodynamic tests on full-scale structures. The results of these tests confirm the overall equivalence of the seismic behavior of precast and cast-in-situ structures. Moreover, two additional prototypes have been designed to investigate the seismic behavior of precast structures with roof elements placed side by side. The results of these further tests show that an effective horizontal diaphragm action can be activated even if the roof elements are not connected among them, and confirm the expected good seismic performance of these precast systems. Finally, the results of the experimental tests are compared with those obtained from nonlinear structural analyses. The good agreement between numerical and experimental results confirms the accuracy of the theoretical model and, with it, the results of the probabilistic investigation.     

Probabilistic Characteristics of Seismic Ductility Demand of SDOF Systems with Bouc-Wen Hysteretic Behavior

This study investigates probabilistic characteristics of the peak ductility demand of inelastic single-degree-of-freedom systems. The hysteretic behavior of structural systems is represented by the Bouc-Wen model, which takes various hysteretic curves with degradation and pinching behavior into account, and a prediction equation of the peak ductility demand is developed. The application of the developed equation in reliability analysis of structures subject to earthquake loading is illustrated. The results indicate that the effects due to degradation and pinching behavior on the peak ductility demand as well as the reliability of structures can be significant, especially for stiff structures.