A utility tunnel is an infrastructure that consolidates multiple municipal pipeline systems into a shared underground passage. As long linear structures inevitably cross different soils, this paper aims to accurately assess the seismic damage to a shallow-buried utility tunnel in a non-homogeneous zone by employing a viscous-spring artificial boundary and deriving the corresponding nodal force equations. The three-dimensional model of the utility tunnel-soil system is established using finite element software, and a plug-in is developed to simulate the three-dimensional oblique incidence of SV waves with a horizontal non-homogeneous field. In this study, the maximum interstory displacement angle of the utility tunnel is used as the damage indicator. Analysis of structural vulnerability based on IDA method using PGA as an indicator of seismic wave intensity, which considers the angle of oblique incidence of SV waves, the type of seismic waves, and the influence of the nonhomogeneous field on the seismic performance of the utility tunnel. The results indicate that the failure probability of the utility tunnel in different soil types increases with the incident angle and PGA. Additionally, the failure probability under the pulse wave is higher than that under the non-pulse wave; Particular attention is given to the states of severe damage (LS) and collapse (CP), particularly when the angle of incidence is 30 degrees and the PGA exceeds 0.6g, conditions under which the probability of failure is higher. Additionally, the failure probability of the non-homogeneous zone is greater than that of sand and clay; the maximum interlayer displacement angle increases with the incident angle, accompanied by greater PGA dispersion, indicating the seismic wave intensity. The maximum inter-layer displacement angle increases with the incident angle, and the dispersion of the seismic wave intensity indicator (PGA) becomes greater. This paper proposes vulnerability curves for different working conditions, which can serve as a reference for the seismic design of underground structures.
The seismic response of reinforced concrete buildings depends on the interaction between the superstructure, foundation type and soil properties, making accurate fragility assessment a complex engineering challenge. This study focuses on constructing fragility curves specific to building vulnerability assessment by incorporating various damage parameters that account for soil-structure interaction effects. Using finite element analysis software, Incremental Dynamic Analysis was performed on RC building models with both fixed and flexible bases founded on varying soil conditions. Fragility curves were developed using three engineering demand parameters: maximum roof displacement, inter-storey drift and plastic energy dissipation. Findings reveal that maximum roof displacement parameter consistently yields the highest probabilities of exceedance, reaching up to 90-100% for soft soil at a PGA of 0.3 g, identifying it as the most conservative measure, while plastic energy dissipation displays the lowest probabilities (10-50% across all soil types), indicating its limitations in capturing deformation demands. To streamline vulnerability assessment for buildings incorporating the effect of supporting soil stratum, fragility modification factors are proposed to efficiently adjust existing fragility curves for incorporating SSI effects based on different damage measures and soil conditions, providing a comprehensive approach to efficient vulnerability analysis.
This study focuses on the challenge of identifying the most destructive earthquakes to minimize earthquakeinduced damage, with particular attention to the seismic behavior of special reinforced concrete moment frames (RCMFs) and the influence of soil-structure interaction (SSI). To achieve this objective, a numerical model was developed in OpenSEES platform to analyze RCMFs with heights of 2, 6 and 10 stories on four different soil types (Site Classes B to E). Also, to consider the effect of SSI, the study utilized a Beam on Nonlinear Winkler Foundation approach (BNWF), incorporating springs and dashpots. An extensive set of earthquake records, including 274 horizontal ground motion records, categorized based on shear wave velocity for each site class, was employed. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) was used to identify the most destructive earthquake scenarios, with maximum inter-story drift serving as the damage measure (DM) for the four seismic performance levels proposed by HAZUS and peak ground acceleration (PGA) as the intensity measure (IM). After performing correlation analysis between the 57 ground motion parameters (GMPs) and the maximum inter-story drift, followed by an inter-correlation analysis among the candidate GMPs, it was ultimately determined that the GMPs: Vmax/Amax, Tm and F5PSD, accurately represent the potential for seismic damage. IDA results highlighted the significant influence of SSI on the seismic performance of structure, especially in taller buildings constructed on softer soil types. Finally, two equations were developed based on the identified GMPs to determine and rank destructive earthquakes for both SSI and no-SSI (NSSI) conditions.
Probability-based seismic fragility analysis provides a quantitative evaluation of the seismic performance exhibited by structures. This study introduces a framework to perform seismic fragility analysis of utility tunnel and internal pipeline system considering wave passage effect of the ground motion spatial variation. The numerical model of a double-beam system resting on a nonlinear foundation is established to simulate the soiltunnel-pipeline interactions. 17 pairs of earthquake records are chosen and scaled as inputs at the outcrop. One-dimensional (1D) free-field analyses are conducted to obtain the ground motion time histories at the bottom slab of the utility tunnel, and then incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) is performed for the utility tunnel-internal pipeline system. The damage states (DSs) are defined by the maximum joint opening for the utility tunnel and maximum strain for the internal pipeline, and the peak bedrock velocity (PBV) is determined to be the most representative intensity measure (IM) for developing the seismic fragility curves. The seismic fragility curves of the system are constructed using the joint probabilistic seismic demand model (JPSDM) and Monte Carlo sampling method. The research findings indicate that: (1) the framework proposed in this study is suitable for the fragility assessment of long-extended utility tunnel-internal pipeline system; (2) the utility tunnel and internal pipeline as a system exhibit greater fragility compared to either one of the components, and the JPSDM and Monte Carlo sampling method for the system fragility analysis is more precise than the first-order bound method; (3) the proposed fragility curves in this study provide quantitative damage probabilities for the individual components and system under different seismic intensity levels. (4) The IM values corresponding to 50% exceedance failure probability of the whole system is 1%-3% lager than that of the upper bounds, and it is 3% to 5% less than that of the lower bounds. The conservative upper bound is a more suitable approximation for system fragility. (5) It should be noted that the obtained fragility curves are valid for the considered tunnel-pipeline structure and site conditions. For different tunnel structures and site conditions, the fragility curves can be constructed following the same steps outlined in this study.
The selection of representative ground motion intensity measure (IM) and structural engineering demand parameter (EDP) is the crucial prerequisite for evaluating structural seismic performance within the performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) framework. This study focuses on this crucial step in developing the probabilistic seismic demand model for two-story and three-span subway stations exposed to transverse seismic loadings in three different ground conditions. The equivalent linearization approach is used to simulate the shear modulus degradation and the increase in damping characteristics of the soil under seismic excitation. Nonlinear fiber beam-column elements are adopted to characterize the nonlinear hysteretic degradation of the subway station structure during seismic events. A total of 21 far-field ground motions are selected from the PEER strong ground motion database. Nonlinear incremental dynamic analyses (IDAs) are conducted to evaluate the seismic response of the subway station. A suite of 23 ground motion IMs is evaluated using the criteria of correlation, efficiency, practicality, and proficiency. Then, a multi-level fuzzy evaluation method is employed to integrate these evaluation criteria and determine the optimal ground motion IMs in different ground conditions. The peak ground acceleration and sustained maximum acceleration are demonstrated to be the optimal ground motion IM candidates for shallowly buried rectangular underground structures in site classes I, II, and III, while the root-mean-square displacement and compound displacement are found to be not suitable for this purpose.
Ensuring the structural resilience of shield tunnels is critical in seismically active regions. Liquefaction induced by seismic activity poses an additional hazard to tunnel safety. The study performed seismic fragility analysis using the incremental dynamic analysis method which utilized a finite element model of a saturated porous seabed shield tunnel. The findings highlighted that different liquefaction mechanisms are observed in different types of the soil surrounding the tunnel. The thickness of the fine sand layer (FSL) surrounding the tunnel significantly affects seabed liquefaction depth and the tunnel's maximum bending moment (Mmax). The highest Mmax and damage probabilities were observed when the tunnel was entirely embedded in the FSL, whereas the smallest Mmax and lowest damage probabilities occurred when the tunnel was partially within the sand and clay. This study could also provide some insights on seismic mitigation strategies in subsea shield tunnels and the soil type influences the timing of Mmax occurrence and emphasized the critical role of seismic frequency in determining the tunnel's response.
In order to further study the dynamic response and damage status of the subway station structure and promote the development of the TOD (transit-oriented development) mode structure system, this paper proposes a calibration method for the seismic performance index limit of the subway station complex structure in TOD mode. Taking a practical project in the Beijing city sub-center station integrated transport hub as the research background, the nonlinear analysis model of soil-structure interaction under different site types is established. Firstly, the limit value of the interstory drift ratio is determined by the pushover loading method of the inverted triangular distributed load for the three-dimensional numerical model. Secondly, different types of seismic waves are selected to analyze the seismic vulnerability of the simplified two-dimensional numerical model, and the exceedance probability of different damage states of the structure is quantitatively analyzed. By analyzing the pushover curve, the maximum interstory drift ratio limits corresponding to the five damage states of the subway station complex structure are 0.14%, 0.32%, 0.66%, and 1.12%, respectively. Under different site types and different types of seismic waves, the seismic response law of subway station structures in TOD mode is different. Using different types of ground motion as the input, the mean and discreteness of different IDA curve clusters are quite different. The near-field pulse-type ground motion has a greater impact on the ground motion of the structural system under the Class II site, and the far-field long-period ground motion has a greater impact on the structure under the Class III site. Damage decreases with the increase in the equivalent shear wave velocity of the site, that is, the harder the site's soil is, the less susceptible the structural system is to damage by underground motion. The established seismic vulnerability curve and seismic damage probability table can effectively evaluate the seismic performance of subway station complex structure in TOD mode. The research results can provide a valuable reference for the seismic performance evaluation of similar underground structures.
The performance of reinforced concrete buildings subjected to earthquake excitations depends on the structural behaviour of the superstructure as well as the type of foundation and the properties of soil on which the structure is founded. The consideration of the effects due to the interaction between the structure and soil- foundation alters the seismic response of reinforced concrete buildings subjected to earthquake motion. Evaluation of the structural response of buildings for quantitative assessment of the seismic fragility has been a demanding problem for the engineers. Present research deals with development of fragility curve for building specific vulnerability assessment based on different damage parameters considering the effect of soil- structure interaction. Incremental Dynamic Analysis of fixed base and flexible base RC building models founded on different soil conditions was conducted using finite element software. Three sets of fragility curves were developed with maximum roof displacement, inter storey drift and plastic energy dissipated as engineering demand parameters. The results indicated an increase in the likelihood of exceeding various damage limits by 10-40% for flexible base condition with soft soil profiles. Fragility curve based on energy dissipated showed a higher probability of exceedance for collapse prevention damage limit whereas for lower damage states, conventional methods showed higher probability of exceedance. With plastic energy dissipated as engineering demand parameter, it is possible to track down the intensity of earthquake at which the plastic deformation starts, thereby providing an accurate vulnerability assessment of the structure. Fragility modification factors that enable the transformation of existing fragility curves to account for Soil-Structure Interaction effects based on different damage measures are proposed for different soil conditions to facilitate a congenial vulnerability assessment for buildings with flexible base conditions.
This paper aims to evaluate the failure probability of buried pipelines under pulse-like ground motions based on the seismic records detected during the Kahramanmaras, earthquake in Turkey. The incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method was used to evaluate the vulnerability of continuous and segmented steel pipes, taking into account the corrosion effect in alkaline and near-neutral soil environments. The results show that pulse-like ground motion can significantly impact the fragility of buried pipelines, particularly segment steel pipelines. Moreover, the failure probability of buried pipelines tends to increase with service age, although the rate of failure gradually decreases. Empirical models notably underestimate the failure probability of buried pipelines under pulse-like ground motion, so they should be used cautiously in engineering application. These insights contribute to advancing our understanding of the seismic fragility of buried pipelines.
Research on the characterization of ground motion intensity and damage of underground structures is limited, while reasonable selection of ground motion intensity measures and structural damage measures is a crucial prerequisite for structural seismic performance evaluation. In this study, a two-dimensional finite element model of soil and structures was established based on the Daikai subway station in Japan. Through incremental dynamic analysis, 32 ground motion intensity measures and seven structural damage measures were comprehensively evaluated from seven properties, including efficiency, practicality, proficiency, scaling robustness, relativity, hazard computability, and sufficiency. According to the analysis results, the purpose and significance of each property during measure optimization were hierarchically sorted out. The results show that peak ground acceleration, acceleration spectrum intensity, and sustained maximum acceleration are recommended as ground motion intensity measures, while maximum inter-story drift ratio, column end displacement angle, and two-parameter measures are recommended as the structural damage measures for seismic performance evaluation of the shallow-buried subway station. Furthermore, measure optimization approaches are proposed as follows: the basic selection of IMs should satisfy scaling robustness, hazard computability, and sufficiency to site condition; the optimal selection of IMs is suggested to be evaluated mainly through efficiency, practicality and proficiency, and verified through relativity and relative sufficiency between IMs. The optimal selection of DM is suggested to be evaluated through four properties, including efficiency, practicality, proficiency, and relativity.