Structural Control

The South Atlantic passive margins show considerable variation along strike in terms of both structural style and margin width. Much of this change is thought to be due to variations in basement structure. Previous studies have shown that the influence of pre-existing structures can range from metre-scale local variations in basement fabrics to tens of kilometre-scale lithospheric heterogeneities relating to

The South Atlantic passive margins show considerable variation along strike in terms of both structural style and margin width. Much of this change is thought to be due to variations in basement structure. Previous studies have shown that the influence of pre-existing structures can range from metre-scale local variations in basement fabrics to tens of kilometre-scale lithospheric heterogeneities relating to

Optimization of combined structural and control systems is a complex problem requiring an inordinate amount of computer-processing time, especially the solution of the eigenvalue problem of a general unsymmetric square real matrix with complex eigenvalues and eigenvectors, which is frequently used in such problem. The few algorithms presented in the literature thus far have been applied to small structures with

The topic of risk sensitive (RS) control is receiving substantial and continued research from the theoretical community oriented toward stochastic control theory. If one regards the RS optimization criterion as a denumerable linear combination of cumulants, then it is seen as a very interesting case of control design based upon linear combinations of cumulants. The present paper reports the application

Damage of adjacent bridge structures due to relative responses, such as pounding and unseating, have been observed in many earthquakes. The isolators in bridge structures are effective in mitigating the induced seismic forces. However, the deck displacement becomes excessively large when subjected to ground motion with unexpected characteristics. This increases the possibility of pounding; and contributes to the unseating of bridge decks and subsequent collapse. An analytical model of expansion joints, that takes account of the interaction between adjacent bridge segments and the effect of impact and restrainers, is developed and nonlinear time history analyses are performed on a typical isolated multi-span bridge using three standard ground motions. The numerical simulation results show that pounding between adjacent bridge segments could amplify the relative displacement, resulting in the requirement of using an unseating prevention system. Restrainers are substantially effective in reducing the relative opening displacements and impact forces due to pounding at the expansion joints. However, the impact and the stretch of cable restrainers at expansion joints results in a large lateral force transfer from one deck to the other, which, consequently, significantly changes the global response of the participating structural systems. Therefore, it is effective to provide a shock absorber for the mitigation of impact effects between bridge segments or at the restrainers’ ends. The sudden changes of stiffness during poundings can be smoothed by using a natural rubber shock absorber, which prevents, to some extent, the acceleration peaks due to impact. The reaction forces at the pier bases and the pounding forces exerted on the superstructure can be satisfactorily reduced.