Building pounding is a recognised phenomenon where adjacent buildings collide under lateral loading due to insufficient provision of building separation. The consequences of this interaction are known to be complex, and both buildings’ responses can be significantly affected. In the absence of extensive experimental data, numerical modelling has been frequently adopted as a means of evaluating building pounding risk during earthquakes. In performing numerical analysis, it becomes necessary to create specialised ‘contact’ elements to simulate building contact. While many contact elements have been previously proposed, detailed consideration of their inherent assumptions has frequently been overlooked. This thesis considers the significance and consequences of using the Kelvin contact element for a variety of pounding situations and with varying levels of model detail. Pounding between two adjacent floors (floor/floor collision) is considered as a one dimensional wave propagation problem. By modelling each floor as a flexible rod (termed distributed mass modelling), theoretical relationships for collision force, collision duration and post-collision velocity are derived. This theory is then compared to the predictions made when using the traditionally adopted assumptions of fully rigid colliding floors (termed lumped mass modelling). The post-collision velocities obtained from each method are found to agree only when the axial period of both floors is identical. Relationships between lumped mass and distributed mass models are formed, and an ‘equivalent lumped mass’ method is developed where distributed mass effects can be emulated without explicit modelling of floor flexibility. The theoretical solution method is then adapted for use in Non-Linear Time History Analysis (NLTHA) software to model specific pounding situations. Numerical modelling of a single collision is performed to compare these results to the theoretical predictions. Good agreement is found, and the model’s complexity is simplified until a sufficiently accurate simulation is performed without overly onerous computational requirements. Five methods are detailed that incorporate energy loss during collision into the distributed mass models and a calibration method is developed that enables researchers to define the level of energy loss that occurs during a single collision. Using the developed modelling methods, the pounding response of two existing Wellington buildings is predicted. This is first performed using 2D analysis of the stiffest frame from each building. The predicted building pounding damage is categorised into local damage (damageresulting from the magnitude of the force applied during contact) and global damage (damage due to the change in dynamic building properties resulting from momentum transfer during collision). Local and global damage effects are found to be fundamentally different consequences of collision, with the two categories responding differently to changes in the modelled system. The effects of building separation, scaling of input motion, modelling of soil-structure-interaction, collision damping, and floor rigidity are investigated for the considered system. 3D analysis of the building configuration is then investigated. Additional complications arising from the transverse movement of buildings prior to and during collision are identified and refined modelling methods are developed. The 3D configuration of these buildings causes torsional interaction, despite both buildings being perfectly symmetrical. This torsion is due to the eccentric positioning of the buildings relative to each other, which causes an eccentric contact load when pounding occurs. The 3D models are used to test the effects of building separation, 2D vs. 3D modelling, collision damping, floor rigidity, and the significance of the torsional interactions. Attention is then focused on collisions between a building’s floors and an adjacent building’s columns (floor/column collision). Due to the high frequency content of pounding impacts, the significance of using Timoshenko beam theory instead of Euler-Bernoulli theory is assessed. The shear stiffness in the Timoshenko formulation is found to significantly affect the columns’ predicted performance, and is used in subsequent modelling. An appropriately accurate method of modelling that minimises computational effort is then developed. The simplified model is used to predict the performance of two three-storey buildings that experience floor/column collision. The effects of floor/column impact are predicted for collisions at mid-height, and near the support of the impacted column. Each of these scenarios investigates the effect of building separation on local damage and global damage. Finally, a method to model collision between two adjacent walls that collide out-of-plane is developed (wall/wall contact). The adopted contact element properties are selected using analogous situations that have been previously investigated. The method is used to investigate a single collision between two different wall configurations. In the conclusions, the developed modelling methods from all the considered collision configurations are collected and presented in a summary table. It is intended that these recommendations will assist other researchers in selecting appropriate building pounding modelling properties.

The diploma thesis "The Question of History and Time in Modern Theology" aims to introduce the basic forms of thinking about history and time in modern theology. First of all, the work focuses on the initial forms of history and time outside of theology. Results are compared with a basic understanding of the same in Christianity. This is followed by a study of five selected theologians of the 20th century, who were interested in the problem of history and time. The study also reflects reactions to their scholar's conclusions too.

Elevated water tanks are widely used to store water for drinking as well as for fire extinguishing purposes. After a severe earthquake, the need of water for drinking as well as fire control will increase dramatically. To ensure that water tanks remain functional after an earthquake, proper analysis method should be followed in order to calculate the response of a structure for earthquake. In this study, the lateral forces developed during earthquake are investigated from commercially available SAP2000 software and the results are compared with the 2006 edition of the ACI standard "Seismic Design of Liquid-Containing Concrete Structures and Commentary" (ACI 350.3-06). The elevated concrete tank is modeled for full, half-full and empty conditions. Linear modal time history analysis is performed using scaled ground motions. Three-directional ground motion records from five different earthquakes have been scaled to the design level and applied to the structure. Sloshing behavior of water inside the tank and the effect of vertical ground motion on the columns have been investigated. It is found that, vertical ground motions can increase the axial forces in columns by up to 20 %, and the ACI 350.3-06 design method is not always conservative. As seismic response depends on both the dynamic properties of the structure and the spectral characteristics of ground motions, more research is needed to understand and model the seismic response of elevated water tanks.

In this article, a performance assessment of the evacuation system is established for educational buildings. Structural and geotechnical information of the building is collected and introduced into a database. A similar procedure was realized for the information related to the occupants. Using this information, a) the structural fragility and localized collapse were determined and b) the interaction of the person with the partial collapse was established. For the first aspect, nonlinear time history was used, and for the second, the agent-based modeling was applied to recreate the reaction of people that face the micro collapse. Therefore, the important results of this evaluation are: 1) To localize collapsed beans and columns that make inoperable evacuation routes, 2) to localize bottleneck areas that people concentration during evacuation, and 3) quantification of affected people, in terms of persons caught up in the building that cannot evacuate.

In time history analysis of structures, the geometric mean of two orthogonal horizontal components of ground motion in the as-recorded direction of sensors, have been used as measure of ground motion intensity prior to the 2009 NEHRP provision. The 2009 NEHRP Provisions and accordingly the seismic design provisions of the ASCE/SEI 7-10, modified the definition of ground motion intensity measure from geometric mean to the maximum direction ground motion, corresponding to the direction that results in peak response of the oscillator. Maximum direction response spectra are assumed to envelope the range of maximum possible responses over all nonredundant rotation angles. Two assumptions are made in the use maximum ground motion as the intensity measure: (1) the structure’s strength and stiffness properties are identical in all directions and (2) azimuth of the maximum spectral acceleration coincides with the one of the principal axes of the structure. The implications of these assumptions are examined in this study, using 3D computer models of multi-story structures having symmetric and asymmetric layouts and elastic vibration period of 0.2 second and 1.0 second subjected to a set of 25 ground-motion pairs recorded at a distance of more than 20 km from the fault. The influence of the ground-motion rotation angle on structural response (here lateral displacement and story drift) is examined to form benchmarks for evaluating the use of the maximum direction (MD) ground motions. The results of this study suggest that while MD ground motions do not always result in largest structural response, they tend to produce larger response than the as-recorded ground motions. On the other hand, more research on non-linear seismic time history analysis is recommended, especially for asymmetric layout plan buildings.

The purpose of this thesis was to improve our understanding of the progression of fatigue and recovery during repetitive work and to examine selected methods for predicting fatigue. In Chapter 2, a psychophysical methodology was used to validate the Maximum Acceptable Effort (MAE) equation of Potvin (2012) at duty cycles of greater than 0.5. The results from that study were used to evaluate the MAE equation in the higher duty cycle range. In Chapter 3, the fatigue process during complex MVC-relative force profiles was examined in a repetitive handgrip task. In Chapter 4, I examined the effect of manipulating the order of presentation of various MVC-relative force levels for a repetitive thumb flexion task. Additionally, the influence of post-activation potentiation was examined by stimulating the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) at specific time points during the complex profile. In Chapter 5, Xia and Frey Law’s (2008) three-compartment model (3CMXFL) of muscle fatigue was modified to more accurately reflect physiological processes. The model, with physiological modifications (3CMGMU), as well as the original 3CM optimized for complex tasks (3CMOPT), was optimized to predict the fatigue levels from the experiments described in Chapters 3 and 4, as well as 4 other similar experimental protocols. The predicted fatigue from the 3CMXFL was also compared to the experimental data. The 3CMOPT and 3CMGMU were compared against known endurance times. The 3CMGMU is proposed as an ergonomic tool for evaluating fatigue in repetitive tasks, and the future directions for fatigue modelling and using the MAE equation for complex force-time histories are addressed. This thesis provides the first studies of fatigue accumulation during complex MVC-relative time histories. The findings from this thesis can be applied to the workplace to reduce the risk of injury as a result of muscle fatigue. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Au Québec, les écoles sont situées dans une région où l’aléa sismique est considéré modéré à élevé. La majorité de ces écoles ont été construites avant les années 70 et comportent de la maçonnerie non armée (MNA) qui est un matériau à ductilité faible. Au cours des séismes passés notamment celui du Saguenay en 1988, il semble que les structures comportant de la MNA constituent le type de structure le plus dangereux vis-à-vis du séisme. La performance sismique de ces écoles est alors mise en question d’autant plus que la plupart ont été construites avant l’introduction des normes parasismiques. Ce projet de recherche traite de la vulnérabilité sismique des écoles comportant de la MNA et s’inscrit à la suite d’un projet d’élaboration d’une procédure de classification des écoles dans l’Est du Canada. Il découle d’une initiative du Réseau Canadien pour la Recherche Parasismique (RCRP) qui vise des procédures d’analyse de ces bâtiments en vue d’un programme de réhabilitation d’écoles, lancé par le Ministère de l’Éducation, des Loisirs et du Sport (MELS). Une procédure à trois niveaux pour l’évaluation de la vulnérabilité sismique des bâtiments dans l’Est du Canada a été élaborée par différents chercheurs de l’Université de Sherbrooke, de l’École de Technologie Supérieure et de l’Université McGill [Nollet et al., 2012]. Partant des conclusions de cette étude et d’une revue de littérature, les efforts de la recherche développeront un niveau d’évaluation sismique complète des écoles types au Québec comportant de la MNA comme murs de remplissage. Les objectifs seront donc de proposer un modèle adéquat du comportement sismique de la MNA issue de la littérature, étudier l’influence de la non linéarité de la MNA sur la réponse dynamique de ces écoles ainsi que l’influence de l’irrégularité en plan sur la réponse dynamique de ces écoles. La démarche comprend le développement des modèles Opensees [Mazzoni et al., 2004] et la modélisation des écoles génériques sur le logiciel OpenSees (l’un des défi majeur du projet), la validation des modèles à partir de valeurs empirique et expérimentale et enfin les analyses modales et temporelles.

This thesis argues for a revised understanding of time in modernist literature. It challenges the longstanding critical tradition that has used the French philosopher Henri Bergson's distinction between clock-time and durée to explicate time in the modernist novel. To do so, it replaces Stephen Kern's influential understanding of modernity as characterized by the solidification of a homogenous clock-time, with Peter Osborne’s notion of modernity as structured by a competing range of temporalizations of history. The following chapters then read the fictional and historical writings of H. G. Wells, D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf alongside such a conception of modernity, and show that all these writers explored different versions of historical time. Wells explored geological time in The Time Machine (1895) and An Outline of History (1920), Lawrence adapted Friedrich Nietzsche's thought of eternal recurrence in Women in Love (1920), Movements in European History (1921) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928), and Woolf imagined an aeviternal historical continuity and a phenomenological historical time in Between the Acts (1941). By addressing historical time, this thesis enables a reassessment of the politics of modernist time. It challenges the view that the purported modernist exploration of a Bergsonian private time constitutes an asocial and ahistorical retreat from the political. Rather, by transferring Osborne's notion of a 'politics of time' to the literary sphere, this study argues that the competing configurations of politically-charged historical time in literary modernism, form the analogue of the competing versions of such a time within modernity, emblematized by the contrasting accounts of historical time of Martin Heidegger and Walter Benjamin.

This study investigates seismic response of the Moment-Resisting-Steel Frames (MRSF) with the architectural setbacks. The main objective of the study is to understand the variation of the elastic and inelastic, static and dynamic behavior with changes in the geometric dimensions of the tower portion. A second objective of the study is to determine the adequacy of the analysis procedures of various rigors, specified in current seismic design provision, in predicting those behaviors for MRSF with various size of setback. The analytical study is conducted using a regular and 16 irregular models to capture all possible combinations of configuration of setback in five-story, five-bay MRSFs. An irregular model is developed by gradually changing the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the tower portion of the regular base 2D frame-model. All models were designed for (a) equal global displacement and uniform distribution of inter-story drift under First-Mode (FM) lateral force distribution pattern at first significant yield, and (b) equal period of vibration at the first mode, using Nonlinear Static Seismic analysis procedure. Among the conclusions derived from the research is that the variation of (a) the elastic and inelastic inter-story drift, the ductility demand for the top three stories, and (b) the elastic and inelastic global displacement exhibited a pattern similar to the variation of the FM participation factor at the roof, PF1Φr,1. The square-root-of-sum-of-square (SRSS) distribution provided accurate estimates of elastic story shear and inter-story drift demand as well as the story yield strength and drift.

A numerical study has been undertaken to evaluate the response of dual systems which consist of steel plate shear walls and moment resisting frames. The primary objective of the study was to investigate the influence of elastic base shear distribution between the wall and the frame on the global system response. A total of 10 walls and 30 wall-frame systems, ranging from 3 to 15 stories, were selected for numerical assessment. These systems represent cases in which the elastic base shear resisted by the frame has a share of 10%, 25%, or 50% of the total base shear resisted by the dual system. The numerical study consisted of 1600 time history analyses employing three-dimensional finite elements. All 40 structures were separately analyzed for elastic and inelastic response by subjecting to the selected suite of earthquake records. Interstory drifts, top story drift, base shears resisted by the wall and the frame were collected during each analysis. Based on the analysis results, important response quantities such as the response modification, the overstrength, the displacement amplification and ductility reduction factors are evaluated herein. Results are presented in terms of several measures such as the interstory drift ratio and the top story drift ratio. A discussion related to the influence of load share on the response factors is given.