Container cranes represent one of the most critical components of ports worldwide. Despite their importance to port operations, the seismic behavior of cranes has been largely ignored. Since the 1960s, industry experts have recommended allowing cranes to uplift, believing that it would limit the amount of seismic loading. However, modern cranes have become larger and more stable, and the industry experts are now questioning the seismic performance of modern jumbo cranes. The main goal of this research was to experimentally investigate the seismic behavior of container cranes from the general elastic behavior through collapse, including non-linear behavior such as buckling and cross section yielding, utilizing the 6 degree-of-freedom shake tables at the University at Buffalo. The testing was divided into two phases. The first phase of testing was conducted on a 1/20th scale model. The second phase of testing was conducted on a 1/10th scale model, which was designed such that no inelastic action would develop prior to uplift (as is the common design practice). In support of the experiments, finite element models were created to determine what simplifications could be made to the structure to aid in testing. The data collected from the testing has been used to validate finite element models, to give a better understanding of the behavior of container cranes under seismic excitations, validate fragility models, and to develop recommendations and guidelines for the design and testing of container cranes.

Based upon the upper bound limit analysis, the stability numbers have been developed for a two-layered soil slope both for an associated flow rule material and for a homogeneous slope with non-associated flow rule material. The failure surface was assumed to be an arc of logarithmic spiral and it automatically ensures the kinematics admissibility of the failure mechanism with respect to the rigid rotation of the soil mass about the focus of the logarithmic spiral. The effect of the pore water pressure and horizontal earthquake body forces was also included m the analysis. For a non-associated flow rule material, the stress distribution along the failure surface was developed with the assumption of interslice forces given by Fellenius and Bishop. The stability numbers have been found to reduce appreciably with increases m the (i) horizontal inclination (β) of slope, (ii) pore water pressure coefficient, ru and (iii) horizontal earthquake acceleration coefficient (kh). The values of the stability numbers for a non-associated co-axial flow rule, with dilatancy angle ψ =0, have been found to be considerably lower as compared to the associated flow rule material. For a given height of the slope, with associated flow rule, the values of the stability numbers have been found to increase with increase in the thickness of a layer with greater value of the friction angle Φ. The results have been given in the form of non-dimensional stability charts, which can be used for readily obtaining either the value of the critical height or the factor of safety The methodology can be easily extended even for multi-layered soil slopes with different values of cohesion (c), bulk unit weight (γ) and friction angle (Φ). An attempt has also been made in this thesis to study experimentally the effect of the frequency of the excitation and the addition of non-plastic fines on the liquefaction resistance of the material Shake table studies, generating uni-axial sinusoidal horizontal vibrations, were earned out for this purpose. During the period of excitation of the material, the settlement at the surface of the sample increases continuously with time up to a certain peak value and thereafter, it becomes almost constant. For the excitation of the material with higher frequency, more number of cycles was seen to reach the final settlement. With the continuous excitation of the material, the magnitude of the pore water pressures increases up to a certain peak value and there after, its magnitude decreases till it again becomes the hydrostatic pressure as it was before the excitation of the material. The peak magnitude of the pore water pressure tends to be higher for the excitation with smaller frequency especially at greater depths from the ground surface. The addition of non-plastic fines tends to increase the magnitude of the settlement as well as the increase in the pore water pressure.

Several studies were undertaken by various investigators during the last five decades to better understand the engineering behaviour of unsaturated soils. These studies are justified as more than 33% of soils worldwide are found in either arid or semi-arid regions with evaporation losses exceeding water infiltration. Due to this reason, the natural ground water table in these regions is typically at a greater depth and the soil above it is in a state of unsaturated conditions. Foundations of structures such as the housing subdivisions, multi-storey buildings, bridges, retaining walls, silos, and other infrastructure constructed in these regions in sandy soils are usually built within the unsaturated zone (i.e., vadose zone). Limited studies are reported in the literature to understand the influence of capillary stresses (i.e., matric suction) on the bearing capacity, settlement and liquefaction potential of unsaturated sands. The influence of matric suction in the unsaturated zone of the sandy soils is ignored while estimating or evaluating bearing capacity, settlement and liquefaction resistance in conventional engineering practice. The focus of the research presented in the thesis has been directed towards better understanding of these aspects and providing rational and yet simple tools for the design of shallow foundations (i.e., footings) in sands under both static and dynamic loading conditions. Terzaghi (1943) or Meyerhof (1951) equations for bearing capacity and Schmertmann et al. (1978) equation for settlement are routinely used by practicing engineers for sandy soils based on saturated soil properties. The assumption of saturated conditions leads to conservative estimates for bearing capacity; however, neglecting the influence of capillary stresses contributes to unreliable estimates of settlement or differential settlement of footings in unsaturated sands. There are no studies reported in the literature on how capillary stresses influence liquefaction, bearing capacity and settlement behavior in earthquake prone regions under dynamic loading conditions. An extensive experimental program has been undertaken to study these parameters using several specially designed and constructed equipment at the University of Ottawa. The influence of matric suction, confinement and dilation on the bearing capacity of model footings in unsaturated sand was determined using the University of Ottawa Bearing Capacity Equipment (UOBCE-2011). Several series of plate load tests (PLTs) were carried out on a sandy soil both under saturated and unsaturated conditions. Based on these studies, a semi-empirical equation has been proposed for estimating the variation of bearing capacity with respect to matric suction. The saturated shear strength parameters and the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) are required for using the proposed equation. This equation is consistent with the bearing capacity equation originally proposed by Terzaghi (1943) and later extended by Meyerhof (1951) for saturated soils. Chapter 2 provides the details of these studies. The cone penetration test (CPT) is conventionally used for estimating the bearing capacity of foundations because it is simple and quick, while providing continuous records with depth. In this research program, a cone penetrometer was specially designed to investigate the influence of matric suction on the cone resistance in a controlled laboratory environment. Several series of CPTs were conducted in sand under both saturated and unsaturated conditions. Simple correlations were proposed from CPTs data to relate the bearing capacity of shallow foundations to cone resistance in saturated and unsaturated sands. The details of these studies are presented and summarized in Chapter 3. Standard penetration tests (SPTs) and PLTs were conducted in-situ sand deposit at Carp region in Ottawa under both saturated and unsaturated conditions. The test results from the SPTs and PLTs at Carp were used along with other data from the literature for developing correlations for estimating the bearing capacity of both saturated and unsaturated sands. The proposed SPT-CPT-based technique is simple and reliable for estimation of the bearing capacity of footings in sands. Chapter 4 summarizes the details of these investigations. Empirical relationships were proposed using the CPTs data to estimate the modulus of elasticity of sands for settlement estimation of footings in both saturated and unsaturated sands. This was achieved by modifying the Schmertmann et al. (1978) equation, which is conventionally used for settlement estimations in practice. Comparisons are provided between the three CPT-based methods that are commonly used for settlement estimations in practice and the proposed method for seven large scale footings in sandy soils. The results of the comparisons show that the proposed method provides better estimations for both saturated and unsaturated sands. Chapter 5 summarizes the details of these studies. A Flexible Laminar Shear Box (FLSB of 800-mm3 in size) was specially designed and constructed to simulate and better understand the behaviour of model surface footing under seismic loads taking account of the influence of matric suction in an unsaturated sandy soil. The main purpose of using the FLSB is to simulate realistic in-situ soils behaviour during earthquake ground shaking. The FLSB test setup with model footing was placed on unidirectional 1-g shake table (aluminum platform of 1000-mm2 in size) during testing. The resistance of unsaturated sand to deformations and liquefaction under seismic loads was investigated. The results of the study show that matric suction offers significant resistance to liquefaction and settlement of footings in sand. Details of the equipment setup, test procedure and results of this study are presented in Chapter 6. Simple techniques are provided in this thesis for estimating the bearing capacity and settlement behaviour of sandy soils taking account of the influence of capillary stresses (i.e., matric suction). These techniques are consistent with the methods used in conventional geotechnical engineering practice. The studies show that even low values of capillary stresses (i.e., 0 to 5 kPa) increases the bearing capacity by two to four folds, and the settlement of footings not only decreases significantly but also offers resistance to liquefaction in sands. These studies are promising and encouraging to use ground improvement techniques; such as capillary barrier techniques to maintain capillary stresses within the zone of influence below shallow foundations. Such techniques, not only contribute to the increase of bearing capacity, they reduce settlement and alleviate problems associated with earthquake effects in sandy soils.

TITLE: Education as a Way to Freedom in Philosophy of Jan Patočka AUTHOR: Bc. Lukáš Kalina DEPARTMENT: Social Sciences and Philosophy Department SUPERVISOR: doc. PhDr. Naděžda Pelcová, CSc. ABSTRACT: This master's thesis will show the concept of education as the way to freedom in the philosophy of Jan Patočka. It will deal with common phenomenological basis of philosopher to education for freedom and the concept of freedom, and also philosopher's viewpoint to the instrumental education and general link between instrumentality and free human beings. What means ''to raise/educate'' or ''to be raised/educated'' and how Jan Patočka thinks in the meaning of educational/raising methods. KEYWORDS: Upbringing, Freedom, Phenomenology, Three Movements of Human Life, Shake, Truth, Patočka

This dissertation describes the analytical research as part of a comprehensive research program to develop a new floor anchorage system for seismic resistant design, termed the Inertial Force-limiting Floor Anchorage System (IFAS). The IFAS intends to reduce damage in seismic resistant building structures by limiting the inertial force that develops in the building during earthquakes. The development of the IFAS is being conducted through a large research project involving both experimental and analytical research. This dissertation work focuses on analytical component of this research, which involves stand-alone computational simulation as well as analytical simulation in support of the experimental research (structural and shake table testing). The analytical research covered in this dissertation includes four major parts: (1) Examination of the fundamental dynamic behavior of structures possessing the IFAS (termed herein IFAS structures) by evaluation of simple two-degree of freedom systems (2DOF). The 2DOF system is based on a prototype structure, and simplified to represent only its fundamental mode response. Equations of motions are derived for the 2DOF system and used to find the optimum design space of the 2DOF system. The optimum design space is validated by transient analysis using earthquakes. (2) Evaluation of the effectiveness of IFAS designs for different design parameters through earthquake simulations of two-dimensional (2D) nonlinear numerical models of an evaluation structure. The models are based on a IFAS prototype developed by a fellow researcher on the project at Lehigh University. (3) Development and calibration of three-dimensional nonlinear numerical models of the shake table test specimen used in the experimental research. This model was used for predicting and designing the shake table testing program. (4) Analytical parameter studies of the calibrated shake table test model. These studies include: relating the shake table test performance to the previous evaluation structure analytical response, performing extended parametric analyses, and investigating and explaining certain unexpected shake table test responses. This dissertation describes the concept and scope of the analytical research, the analytical results, the conclusions, and suggests future work. The conclusions include analytical results that verify the IFAS effectiveness, show the potential of the IFAS in reducing building seismic demands, and provide an optimum design space of the IFAS.

Several studies were undertaken by various investigators during the last five decades to better understand the engineering behaviour of unsaturated soils. These studies are justified as more than 33% of soils worldwide are found in either arid or semi-arid regions with evaporation losses exceeding water infiltration. Due to this reason, the natural ground water table in these regions is typically at a greater depth and the soil above it is in a state of unsaturated conditions. Foundations of structures such as the housing subdivisions, multi-storey buildings, bridges, retaining walls, silos, and other infrastructure constructed in these regions in sandy soils are usually built within the unsaturated zone (i.e., vadose zone). Limited studies are reported in the literature to understand the influence of capillary stresses (i.e., matric suction) on the bearing capacity, settlement and liquefaction potential of unsaturated sands. The influence of matric suction in the unsaturated zone of the sandy soils is ignored while estimating or evaluating bearing capacity, settlement and liquefaction resistance in conventional engineering practice. The focus of the research presented in the thesis has been directed towards better understanding of these aspects and providing rational and yet simple tools for the design of shallow foundations (i.e., footings) in sands under both static and dynamic loading conditions. Terzaghi (1943) or Meyerhof (1951) equations for bearing capacity and Schmertmann et al. (1978) equation for settlement are routinely used by practicing engineers for sandy soils based on saturated soil properties. The assumption of saturated conditions leads to conservative estimates for bearing capacity; however, neglecting the influence of capillary stresses contributes to unreliable estimates of settlement or differential settlement of footings in unsaturated sands. There are no studies reported in the literature on how capillary stresses influence liquefaction, bearing capacity and settlement behavior in earthquake prone regions under dynamic loading conditions. An extensive experimental program has been undertaken to study these parameters using several specially designed and constructed equipment at the University of Ottawa. The influence of matric suction, confinement and dilation on the bearing capacity of model footings in unsaturated sand was determined using the University of Ottawa Bearing Capacity Equipment (UOBCE-2011). Several series of plate load tests (PLTs) were carried out on a sandy soil both under saturated and unsaturated conditions. Based on these studies, a semi-empirical equation has been proposed for estimating the variation of bearing capacity with respect to matric suction. The saturated shear strength parameters and the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) are required for using the proposed equation. This equation is consistent with the bearing capacity equation originally proposed by Terzaghi (1943) and later extended by Meyerhof (1951) for saturated soils. Chapter 2 provides the details of these studies. The cone penetration test (CPT) is conventionally used for estimating the bearing capacity of foundations because it is simple and quick, while providing continuous records with depth. In this research program, a cone penetrometer was specially designed to investigate the influence of matric suction on the cone resistance in a controlled laboratory environment. Several series of CPTs were conducted in sand under both saturated and unsaturated conditions. Simple correlations were proposed from CPTs data to relate the bearing capacity of shallow foundations to cone resistance in saturated and unsaturated sands. The details of these studies are presented and summarized in Chapter 3. Standard penetration tests (SPTs) and PLTs were conducted in-situ sand deposit at Carp region in Ottawa under both saturated and unsaturated conditions. The test results from the SPTs and PLTs at Carp were used along with other data from the literature for developing correlations for estimating the bearing capacity of both saturated and unsaturated sands. The proposed SPT-CPT-based technique is simple and reliable for estimation of the bearing capacity of footings in sands. Chapter 4 summarizes the details of these investigations. Empirical relationships were proposed using the CPTs data to estimate the modulus of elasticity of sands for settlement estimation of footings in both saturated and unsaturated sands. This was achieved by modifying the Schmertmann et al. (1978) equation, which is conventionally used for settlement estimations in practice. Comparisons are provided between the three CPT-based methods that are commonly used for settlement estimations in practice and the proposed method for seven large scale footings in sandy soils. The results of the comparisons show that the proposed method provides better estimations for both saturated and unsaturated sands. Chapter 5 summarizes the details of these studies. A Flexible Laminar Shear Box (FLSB of 800-mm3 in size) was specially designed and constructed to simulate and better understand the behaviour of model surface footing under seismic loads taking account of the influence of matric suction in an unsaturated sandy soil. The main purpose of using the FLSB is to simulate realistic in-situ soils behaviour during earthquake ground shaking. The FLSB test setup with model footing was placed on unidirectional 1-g shake table (aluminum platform of 1000-mm2 in size) during testing. The resistance of unsaturated sand to deformations and liquefaction under seismic loads was investigated. The results of the study show that matric suction offers significant resistance to liquefaction and settlement of footings in sand. Details of the equipment setup, test procedure and results of this study are presented in Chapter 6. Simple techniques are provided in this thesis for estimating the bearing capacity and settlement behaviour of sandy soils taking account of the influence of capillary stresses (i.e., matric suction). These techniques are consistent with the methods used in conventional geotechnical engineering practice. The studies show that even low values of capillary stresses (i.e., 0 to 5 kPa) increases the bearing capacity by two to four folds, and the settlement of footings not only decreases significantly but also offers resistance to liquefaction in sands. These studies are promising and encouraging to use ground improvement techniques; such as capillary barrier techniques to maintain capillary stresses within the zone of influence below shallow foundations. Such techniques, not only contribute to the increase of bearing capacity, they reduce settlement and alleviate problems associated with earthquake effects in sandy soils.

<p>The aerodynamics of insect flight is not well understood despite it has been extensively investigated with various techniques and methods. Its complexities mainly have two folds: complex flow behavior and intricate wing morphology. The complex flow behavior in insect flight are resulted from flow unsteadiness and three-dimensional effects. However, most of the experimental studies on insect flight were performed with 2D flow measurement techniques whereas the 3D flow measurement techniques are still under developing. Even with the most advanced 3D flow measurement techniques, it is still impossible to measure the flow field closed to the wings and body. On the other hand, the intricate wing morphology complicates the experimental studies with mechanical flapping wings and make mechanical models difficult to mimic the flapping wing motion of insects. Therefore, to understand the authentic flow phenomena and associated aerodynamics of insect flight, it is inevitable to study the actual flying insects. </p> <p>In this thesis, a recently introduced technique of schlieren photography is first tested on free jet of match rockets with a physics based optical flow method to explore its potential of flow quantification of unsteady flow. Then the schlieren photography and optical flow method are adapted to tethered and feely flying houseflies to investigate the complex wake flow and structures. In the end, a particle tracking velocimetry system: Shake the Box system, is utilized to resolve the complex wake flow on a tethered house fly and to acquire some preliminary 3D flow field data</p>

This research consists of full-scale shake table tests to investigate liquefaction of sandy soils. Consideration of the potential and consequences of liquefaction is critical to the performance of any structure built in locations of high seismicity underlain by saturated granular materials as it is the leading cause of damage associated with ground failure. In certain cases the financial losses associated with liquefaction can significantly impact the financial future of an entire region. Most liquefaction triggering studies are performed in the field where liquefaction has been previously observed, or in tabletop laboratory testing. The study detailed herein is a controlled laboratory test performed at full scale to allow for the measurement of field-scale index testing before and after cyclic loading. Testing was performed at the Parson’s geotechnical and Earthquake Laboratory at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on the 1-dimensional shake table with a mounted flexible walled testing apparatus. The testing apparatus, originally constructed for soil-structure interaction experiments utilizing soft clay was retrofitted for the purpose of studying liquefaction. This research works towards comparing large-scale simple-shear liquefaction testing to small-scale simple-shear liquefaction testing of a #2/16 Monterey sand specimen. The bucket top was modified in order to apply a vertical load to the soil skeleton to replicate overburden soil conditions. Access ports were fitted into the bucket top for instrument cable access and to allow cone penetration testing before and after cyclic loading. A shear-wave generator was created to propagate shear waves into the sample for embedded accelerometers to measure small strain stiffness of the sample. Pore-pressure transducers were embedded in the soil sample to capture excess pore water pressure produced during liquefaction. Displacement transducers were attached to the bucket in order to measure shear strains during cyclic testing and to measure post-liquefaction volumetric deformations. The results of this investigation provide an empirical basis to the behavior of excess pore water production, void re-distribution, shear wave velocity, shear strain and cone penetrometer tip resistance of #2/16 Monterey sand before, during, and after liquefaction in a controlled laboratory environment at full-scale.

Nowadays, earthquakes are one of the most catastrophic natural events that have a significant human, socio-economic and environmental impact. Besides, based on both observations of damage following recent major/moderate seismic events and numerical/experimental studies, it clearly emerges that critical non-structural components (NSCs) that are ubiquitous to most industrial facilities are particularly and even disproportionately vulnerable to those events. Nonetheless and despite their great importance, seismic provisions for industrial facilities and their process equipment are still based on the classical load-and-resistance factor design (LRFD) approach; a performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) approach should, instead, be preferred. Along this vein, in recent years, much research has been devoted to setting computational fragility frameworks for special-risk industrial components and structures. However, within a PBEE perspective, studies have clearly remarked: i) a lack of definition of performance objectives for NSCs; ii) the need for fully comprehensive testing campaigns data on coupling effects between main structures and NSCs. In this respect, this doctorate thesis introduces a computational framework for an efficient and accurate seismic state-dependent fragility analysis; it is based on a combination of data acquired from an extensive experimental shake table test campaign on a full-scale prototype industrial steel frame structure and the most recent surrogate-based UQ forward analysis advancements. Specifically, the framework is applied to a real-world application consisting of seismic shake table tests of a representative industrial multi-storey frame structure equipped with complex process components, carried out at the EUCENTRE facility in Italy, within the European SPIF project: Seismic Performance of Multi-Component Systems in Special Risk Industrial Facilities. The results of this experimental research campaign also aspire to improve the understanding of these complex systems and improve the knowledge of FE modelling techniques. The main goals aim to reduce the huge computational burden and to assess, as well, when the importance of coupling effects between NSCs and the main structure comes into play. Insights provided by innovative monitoring systems were then deployed to develop and validate numerical and analytical models. At the same time, the adoption of Der Kiureghian's stochastic site-based ground motion model (GMM) was deemed necessary to severely excite the process equipment and supplement the scarcity of real records with a specific frequency content capable of enhancing coupling effects. Finally, to assess the seismic risk of NSCs of those special facilities, this thesis introduces state-dependent fragility curves that consider the accumulation of damage effects due to sequential seismic events. To this end, the computational burden was alleviated by adopting polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) surrogate models. More precisely, the dimensionality of a seismic input random vector has been reduced by performing the principal component analysis (PCA) on the experimental realizations. Successively, by bootstrapping on the experimental design, separate PCE coefficients have been determined, yielding a full response sample at each point. Eventually, empirical state-dependent fragility curves were derived.

<p>This thesis reports on shake table tests on fully-grouted reinforced masonry (RM) shear walls. The test walls covers a range of design parameters to facilitate benchmarking, a thorough performance investigation, and calibration of numerical models as well as development of fragility curves within the context of Performance Based Seismic Design (PBSD). The details of the experimental program undertaken, including general observations in terms of cracking patterns and failure modes of the tested walls and the results on the lateral strength, hysteretic response, dynamic properties, and the contribution of different displacement components to the response of the walls, are presented. More detailed analyses include seismic performance quantification of the walls in terms of inelastic behaviour characteristics, various energy components, and the effective dynamic properties of the tested walls. The analysis is concluded with development of simplified nonlinear response history analytical models and seismic fragility assessment tools for the tested walls. In general, the study results indicated that the displacement ductility capacity of the RM walls and their capability to dissipate energy through plastic hinging are higher than what is currently recognized by the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC). The fragility assessment study further indicated that similar walls are expected to conform to the current drift limits of the NBCC even at high seismic regions in Canada. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the growing Seismic Performance Database (SPD) of RM Seismic Force Resisting System (SFRS), and to the understanding of the lightly reinforced masonry wall system behaviour.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)