Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-172). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Report (M. Eng.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 75). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering)--Southern Methodist University, 2005. / Adviser: Bijan Mohraz. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Eng.Sc.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2009. Coursework. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1996. / Includes maps in pocket. Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-129). Also available online.

Investigations of connections for precast concrete panel buildings have shown that it is difficult to design an embedded connection that will perform well under earthquake loading. Some typical connections use studs or reinforcing bars embedded in the edge of the panel. These are then welded or bolted to an adjacent panel. During earthquake loading the crushing of concrete around the embedment usually leads to premature loss of strength and stiffness of the connection before significant ductility can develop. It has been found that connection performance improves with increasing panel thickness. The behaviour of embedded connections in thin precast concrete panels was investigated. The intent was to improve connection design details and to develop a simple method of predicting connection strengths with panel thicknesses of 50 mm to 75 mm. Sixteen connections of six different types were tested. Three were tested monotonically and thirteen were tested under reversed cyclic loading. Certain types of connections can be used to transfer earthquake loads between thin concrete panels as long as they have adequate strength. Methods for predicting the strength of connections are discussed. The connections tested should not be relied on to develop ductility. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

The investigation described in this thesis represents the first known attempt to develop a simplified method for the seismic design of structures equipped with a novel friction damping system. The system has been shown experimentally to perform very well and is an exciting development in earthquake resistant design. The design of a building equipped with the friction damping system is achieved by determining the optimum slip load distribution to minimize structural response. A new efficient numerical modelling approach for the analysis and design of Friction Damped Braced Frames (FDBF) is presented. The hysteretic properties of the friction devices are derived theoretically and included in a Friction Damped Braced Frame Analysis Program (FDBFAP), which is adaptable to a microcomputer environment. The optimum slip load distribution is determined by minimizing a Relative Performance Index (RPI) derived from energy concepts. The steady-state response of a single storey friction damped structure subjected to sinusoidal ground motion is investigated analytically. Basic design information on the optimum slip load for the friction device is obtained. The parameters governing the optimum slip load, which minimizes the amplitude for any forcing frequency, are derived. The study indicates that the optimum slip load depends on the characteristics of the ground motion and of the structure. Using variational principles on a shear beam analogy, an optimum slip load distribution along the height of the structure is derived when the total amount of slip load is specified. It is shown that the optimum slip load is proportional to the slope of the deflected shape of the structure. The results of the study reveal that only a small improvement in the response is obtained by using this optimum distribution compared to the response obtained with a uniform distribution. Therefore the use of an optimum uniform distribution seems adequate for the design of friction damped structures. Taking into account the analytical results obtained, FDBFAP is then used in a parametric study which leads to the construction of a design slip load spectrum. The spectrum depends on the properties of the structure and ground motion anticipated at the construction site. It is believed that the availability of this design slip load spectrum will lead to a greater acceptance by the engineering profession of this new and innovative structural concept. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

The Best PhD Thesis in the Faculties of Dentistry, Engineering, Medicine and Science (University of Hong Kong), Li Ka Shing Prize, 2005-2006. / published_or_final_version / abstract / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Design of buildings in earthquake regions requires that the building is made to withstand certain large earthquake magnitudes with a degree of permanent, but energy absorbing, damage. To accurately determine the behaviour of the building while damage occurs, a nonlinear analysis must be used as these effects are non-linear. These computations are often very slow as the building’s response must be calculated many times a second. This thesis seeks to find a faster alternative to the Newmark-β and similar numerical integration schemes commonly used in non-linear seismic structural analysis. Faster computation would enable rapid simulation thus speeding up the design process. It would also allow large Monte Carlo analyses to be done to improve research analysis and allow designers to better account for variability in materials, construction, soil site and other factors that can significantly affect response. For the purposes of this investigation simple two node finite elements were used. The nonlinear component consists of the well-accepted Ramberg-Osgood hysteresis model. The alternative approach used in this thesis is to solve non-linear first order differential equations using a Runge-Kutta based solution. This approach, with added new computational methods, should be more efficient than directly solving the second order equation of motion with Newmark-β. Different test cases were run to establish performance differences in a variety of potential user cases. These cases involved testing different models against both real earthquake data and synthetic input accelerations. In all test cases, the Newmark-β solution yielded the same results as the new solution, as long as a small enough time step was used. When a small time step was used and the results agreed, the new solution was much faster than the Newmark-β solution. In particular, the new numerical solution approach was significantly faster than Newmark-β when the accuracy demanded was 1% or less. As the tolerance was tightened the advantage of the new solution increased exponentially. From this project a set of MATLAB scripts has been created that will reproduce the results given and can also be used to analyse other building models. The overall approach used is also entirely generalisable.