Аssociation for Ukrainian
Earthquake Engineering

First and foremost directions
in the development of calculation schemes
(effects and constructions)

Necessity of transition to the three-dimensional models.

Existing normative methods of calculation and building design in seismic regions, based on one-dimensional cantilever calculation schemes, do not allow to solve important questions: which is the optimum ratio between the length and the width of the building, rigidities of frames, floors and diaphragms of rigidity; how many diaphragms and what distance between them should be; how different methods of monolithing of precast floors influence three-dimensional work of construction, etc. and architect-engineering configuration. It is possible to solve these questions using new calculation schemes, in which a building is considered as a three-dimensional system with floors, which deform and rotate in their planes.

The problem of development of three-dimensional models become complicated by the fact that contemporary many-storied extended buildings are dynamic systems of big dimension with thousands unknown values in solving equations. If to employ the detailed finite-element approximation of a three-dimensional building model, then difficulties in description of models of material, loading and destruction will arise, using iteration methods of reduction of inelastic problems to elastic ones. For multivariant design it is necessary to satisfy additional requirements, imposed on simplicity and co-ordination of the models mentioned above.
 
Calculation models of buildings and their methods of calculation as a result of many years of investigations created by the group of authors allow to solve part of the problems enumerated above with use of personal computers [2-6, 12]. In this direction Professor V.K. Yegupov and his followers had published more than hundred works. This direction of investigations had been reflected in the normative literature [15-19] and training appliances [20-23].

Works by Yu. A. Nemchinov [26-29] and his followers represent another direction of investigations of buildings as three-dimensional systems. They use as the calculation model Vlasov's discrete shell model consisting of tandem joint three-dimensional finite elements [30].

In due time while elaborating norms Sо-8-57, I. L Korchinskiy offered to distribute seismic forces along building height in proportion to modes of their free oscillations. This suggestion stayed up to now in codes in many countries. However, recent research [] showed that for extended buildings the first oscillations modes does not change by height but by length, what essentially influences redistribution of the seismic load. This fact has to be reflected in contemporary codes. However, it does not solve the problem just to include three-dimensional work into codes. It is necessary to develop coordinated models of effects.

Unevenness of the field of oscillations.

Making use of analogy between the problem in consideration and floating of a ship on wave V.K. Yegupov [2] offered engineering methods of consideration of unevenness of the field of oscillations in 1969. Later on this idea was developed in works [4-8].

Seismic wave moving in soil with constant speed creates in foundation of a building (a structure) variable in time and space inhomogeneous kinematic field of oscillations. One must take into account, that running waves on the way from the perturbation source to the building undergo considerable changes as a result of numerous refractions and reverberations in layers of the earth's crust, in soil layers under the building and in the building itself. They create chaotic field of oscillations. Therefore all spatio-temporal oscillators constituting the model of the building react to the perturbation with frequencies inherent to them. In codes transfer process of perturbations along the building is ignored and replaced by one stationary wave with simplified mode as a rectangle. In this case only those oscillators react to perturbations, which only reflect properties of one-dimensional cantilever building model.

The main point of the offered engineering method consists in the following:
"Immovable accelerogram" is presented as a superposition of three fields of standing waves, which parameters is the time of running of seismic waves under the building foundation. Every field is described by an averaged functional, depending on the ratio of the building length to the propagation speed of seismic waves in foundation soils. One can estimate the effect of the running wave by the impact on structure of separate standing waves, which, however, contain the main characteristic of wave processes - time of seismic wave propagation under the building's foundation.

Therefore it is necessary to make special analysis of the set of seismograms or accelerograms, independent on regional conditions (6). The analysis consists of breaking up seismograms or accelerograms into segments Dt = L / c, corresponding to the time of running of the seismic wave under the building's foundation.

At each segment a seismogram or accelerogram is presented as the sum of impulses of a definite form. Thus one can get standing waves depending on the parameter *t. Such methods of adaptation of earthquake seismograms and accelerograms allow to transform the Biot-Housner frequency spectrums, used in codes, into frequency-wave ones. The law of change of amplitudes of displacements according to the length or the width of buildings or acceleration of soil and platform may be determined by the analytic analysis of earthquake records mentioned above with taking into account the parameter *t. This analysis has to be made beforehand and is presented as a frequency-wave spectrum universal for all of constructive types of buildings.

According to the methods described above with use of the probability method allowed to adapt the process number of earthquake accelerograms with the force of 7 and 8 points. Fig. 4 shows the calculation graphs for Mj(L/c), averaged on ensembles: M1 is for progressive, M2 - for torsional, M3 - for flexural in plan oscillations.

Scheme of impact of the running seismic wave upon buildings of regular type (skeleton buildings of frame constructive scheme, dwelling large-panel, brick, large-block) are brought in fig. 1b) and 2b). The Impact effect depends on the time of running of the seismic wave under the building foundation.

Dynamic coefficient is determined for the so-called average soil conditions and the averaged values of a structure attenuation. Analyzing the method by which the diagram *(T) is constructed, it is necessary to note its essential irrationality. So, the assumption about impossibility of resonance does not find either theoretical or practical justification in the case of periods more than 0,4 sec. Earthquakes in Niigata (Japan), Mexico City (Mexico), Romania, etc. have shown that the maximum of the dynamic coefficient can move to the right because of the resonant phenomenon in soil, what endangers many-storied buildings and flexible structures. Now this fact is already reflected in codes of Romania (fig. 4). While developing regional codes (particularly in the Ukraine) it is necessary to take into account the experience of the nearest neighbor countries.

a)   b)

Fig. 4. Diagram for dynamic coefficient accepted in norms of Romania.

Taking into account of dynamic properties of soil and use of seismological information

At the meantime only values of the maximal acceleration are used in the normative calculations from the extensive seismological information on earthquakes. As the latest research had shown, the reaction of a structure is essentially influenced by the spectral structure of the impact, in particular, it is necessary to take into account such important factor, as the prevailing period of the earthquake .

On the basis of generalization of the form of numerous spectra of reaction of strong earthquakes analytical expressions of soil spectra of acceleration had been found depending on the prevailing period фpr of soil oscillations []. These dependencies are represented graphically in the fig. 5.

Fig. 5 Diagrams of soil spectra for short- and long-period earthquakes according to the hypothesis of equal maximal accelerations.

Defects in codes can be removed, if the spectral approach will not be limited by the construction of the averaged curve of a reaction spectrum, but to extend it to the calculation of the building as a whole, up to finding efforts in elements. For this purpose the object of calculation should be presented as ensemble of partial oscillators (according to the number of degrees of freedom), each of that characterizes kinematics of the system under influence of the appropriate soil harmonic. It is accepted, that each of partial oscillators at the certain moment of an earthquake should sound with maximal intensity inherent in it, determined by the appropriate ordinate of the soil spectrum. Inertial loads arising as a result of the maximal designed "sound" of each partial oscillator of the system should be taken into account separately in order to construct the envelope of partial efforts for each constructive element. This envelope is the designed epure of efforts, by which earthquake resistance should be tested.

Investigation of dynamic process in long RC frame structures and bridges, excited by seismic waves.