The research on the development of a reliable analytical model for seismic analysis of steel structures is presented. The non-linear damage cumulation hysteretic model incorporating the deterioration of stiffness, strength and strain hardening for structural steel is proposed and validated. The complete loading history, energy dissipation and the effect of the maximum plastic strain are taken into account in the model. The constants in the model are determined from regression analysis of experimental results of simple standard tensile and cyclic tests. Finite element formulations for beam and structural solid element considering the damage cumulation are derived. A computer program capable of calculating the hysteretic model of steel members, predicting the damage state and crack initiation, and carrying out non-linear time history seismic analysis of steel structures is developed. Solutions obtained from the model are in good agreement with experimental results. It was demonstrated that the damage cumulation effect is considerable and important in structural seismic analysis.

The current situations and growing prospects of China s hydro-power development and high dam construction are reviewed, giving emphasis to key issues for safety evaluation of large dams and hydro-power plants, especially those associated with application of state-of-the-art computational mechanics. These include but are not limited to: stress and stability analysis of dam foundations under external loads; earthquake behavior of dam-foundation-reservoir systems, mechanical properties of mass concrete for dams, high velocity flow and energy dissipation for high dams, scientific and technical problems of hydro-power plants and underground structures, and newly developed types of dam-Roll Com pacted Concrete (RCC) dams and Concrete Face Rock-fill (CFR) dams. Some examples demonstrating successful utilizations of computational mechanics in high dam engineering are given, including seismic nonlinear analysis for arch dam foundations, nonlinear fracture analysis of arch dams under reservoir loads, and failure analysis of arch dam-foundations. To make more use of the computational mechanics in high dam engineering, it is pointed out that much research including different computational methods, numerical models and solution schemes, and verifications through experimental tests and filed measurements is necessary in the future.

In this paper, an overview is given on several key issues and related research progress made in lifeline engineering. The research topics include: numerical modeling of random seismic waves, probabilistic density evolution analysis for nonlinear structural responses, and seismic reliability analysis of large-scale lifeline networks. In addition, a comparison is made between the domestic and international studies on the aforementioned topics. Several examples are included in the paper as the case studies. Recommendations are given for further development of the lifeline engineering research.

Dam-foundation interaction plays an important role in the design of earthquake-resistant concrete arch and gravity dams. Geological conditions of the dam canyon are usually very complicated; however, in the literature, the damfoundation interaction analysis is often carried out based on the premise of a homogeneous unbounded foundation. In this paper, the effect of foundation inhomogeneity on the seismic response of arch and gravity dams was studied by means of scaled boundary finite element method (SBFEM). In order to satisfy the similarity requirement of SBFEM and simplify the computational effort, a subdomain approach and a conical representation of an unbounded foundation were proposed. The way of partitioning the domain and the selection of open angle and bottom radius of the cone model on the accuracy of the result were examined. Numerical examples show that the proposed approach is rational and efficient. Cases of foundation inhomogeneity with stiffness varying in accordance with an exponential function along the radial direction, and cases of foundation inhomogeneity with stiffness discontinuity and with weak interlayer strata on the earthquake response of concrete arch dams as well as gravity dams were analyzed. It was found that a homogeneous idealization of the unbounded foundation may sometimes greatly underestimate the maximum earthquake stress response of the dam. Therefore, taking into account the effect of foundation inhomogeneity for the earthquake safety assessment of concrete arch and gravity dams has great significance.

With the rapid increase in scales of structures, research on controlling wind-induced vibration of large-scale structures, such as long-span bridges and super-tall buildings, has been an issue of great concern. For wind-induced vibration of large-scale structures, vibration frequencies and damping modes vary with wind speed. Passive, semiactive, and active control strategies are developed to improve the wind-resistance performance of the structures in this paper. The multiple tuned mass damper (MTMD) system is applied to control vertical bending buffeting response. A new semiactive lever-type tuned mass damper (TMD) with an adjustable frequency is proposed to control vertical bending buffeting and torsional buffeting and flutter in the whole velocity range of bridge decks. A control strategy named sinusoidal reference strategy is developed for adaptive control of wind-induced vibration of super-tall buildings. Multiple degrees of freedom general building aeroelastic model with a square cross-section is tested in a wind tunnel. The results demonstrate that the proposed strategies can reduce vibration effectively, and can adapt to wind-induced vibration control of large-scale structures in the uncertain dynamic circumstance.

Fracture toughening exhibited in quasi-brittle materials such as concrete is often mainly related to the action of aggregate bridging, which leads to the presence of a fracture process zone ahead of stress-free cracks in such materials. In this investigation, the fracture resistance induced by aggregate bridging, denoted by GI-bridging, is the primary focus. In order to quantitatively determine it, a general analytical formula is firstly developed, based on the definition of fracture energy by Hillerborg. After this, we further present the calculated procedures of determining this fracture resistance from the recorded load vs. crack opening displacement curve. Then, both numerical simulations and fracture experiments are performed on concrete three-point bending beams. Utilizing the obtained load against crack opening displacement curve, the value of G_I-bridging at any crack extension as well as the change of G_I-bridging with the crack extension is examined. It is found that G_I-bridging will firstly increase with the development of crack and then stay constant once the initial crack tip opening displacement reaches the characteristic crack opening displacement w0. The effects of material strength and specimen depth on this fracture resistance are also investigated. The results reveal that the values of G_I-bridging of different specimens at any crack propagation are strongly associated with the values of fracture energy of specimens. If the values of fracture energy between different specimens are comparable, the differences between G_I-bridging are ignored. Instead, if values of fracture energy are different, the G_I-bridging will be different. This shows that for specimens with different strengths, G_I-bridging will change greatly whereas for specimens that are different in depth, whether GI-bridging exhibits size effect depends on whether the fracture energy of specimens considered in the calculation of G_I-bridging is assumed to be a size-dependent material parameter.

A dynamic analysis model of a wind-train-bridge system is established. The wind excitations of the system are the buffeting and self-excited forces simulated in time domain using measured aerodynamic coefficients and flutter derivatives. The proposed formulations are then applied to a long rail-cum-road suspension bridge. The dynamic responses of the bridge and the train under wind action are analyzed. The results show that the lateral and rotational displacements of the bridge are dominated by wind, while the vertical by the gravity loading of the moving train. The running safeties of the train vehicles are much affected by wind. Under wind conditions of 30 40 m/s, the offload factors, derail factors and overturn factors of the train vehicles exceed the safety allowances, to which great attention should be paid.

This paper presents the author's efforts in the past decade for the establishment of a practical approach of digital representation of the geomaterial distribution of different minerals, particulars, and components in the meso-scale range (0.1 to 500 mm). The primary goal of the approach is to provide a possible solution to solve the two intrinsic problems associated with the current main-stream methods for geomechanics. The problems are (1) the constitutive models and parameters of soils and rocks cannot be given accurately in geomechanical prediction; and (2) there are numerous constitutive models of soils and rocks in the literature. The problems are possibly caused by the homogenization or averaging method in analyzing laboratory test results for establishing the constitutive models and parameters. The averaging method employs an assumption that the test samples can be represented by a homogeneous medium. Such averaging method ignores the fact that the geomaterial samples are also consisted of a number of materials and components whose properties may have significant differences. In the proposed approach, digital image processing methods are used as measurement tools to construct a digital representation for the actual spatial distribution of the different materials and components in geomaterial samples. The digital data are further processed to automatically generate meshes or grids for numerical analysis. These meshes or grids can be easily incorporated into existing numerical software packages for further mechanical analysis and failure prediction of the geomaterials under external loading. The paper presents case studies to illustrate the proposed approach. Further discussions are also made on how to use the proposed approach to develop the geomechanics by taking into account the geomaterial behavior at micro-scale, meso-scale and macro-scale levels. A literature review of the related developments is given by examining the SCI papers in the database of Science Citation Index Expanded. The results of this review have shown that the proposed approach is one of the latest research and developments in geomechanics where actual spatial distribution and properties of materials and components at the meso-level are taken into account.

Biaxial tension-compression experiments of concrete of five stress ratios at high temperatures were carried out using the large static-dynamic triaxial test system in the State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology. The stress ratios s1/s3 are 0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75. The temperatures are 20vH, 200vH, 300vH, 500vH, 600vH. The mechanical behavior of concrete under biaxial tension-compression at high temperatures is analyzed. It is found that both the tensile strength and strain diminished with the increase in temperature under each stress ratio. Based on the test results, the relationship between tensile strengths and stress ratios and temperature is proposed. In addition, the failure criterion of concrete under biaxial stress state of tension-compression at high temperatures is established.

The study on the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) of concrete has received lots of attention in the last decade. However, no information is available on the influence of the curvature of a rigid surface on the microstructure of ITZ. This paper employed computer simulation technology to study the influence of fiber curvature on the initial microstructure of ITZ in concrete. For the sake of simplification, the investigation was first focused on the mono-size spherical particle packing system around a cylindrical fiber with different diameters. An algorithm of serial cylindrical sectioning was developed. The curve of the solid volume fraction versus the distance to the surface of the fiber was used as a parameter to characterize the microstructure of the ITZ. Then, the influence of the ratio of fiber diameter to particle diameter on the initial ITZ s microstructure was studied. These curves were compared with the ones from flat aggregate surface on which mono-size spherical particles were packed. Furthermore, the multi-size spherical particles system was further investigated. The simulation results demonstrate that no matter whether the spherical particles system is mono-size or multi-size, the fresh ITZ s microstructure is irrelevant to the curvature of the fiber. The shape of the curve of solid volume fraction versus the distance from the surface of the fiber is similar to that around a flat aggregate surface. In all cases, the horizontal coordinates of the first peak of the curves are located at around half the mean weight diameter of the particles. The thickness of ITZ reduces slightly with the decrease in water/cement ratio. Therefore, one may use the ITZ s microstructure around a flat aggregate surface to represent the ITZ s microstructure around a cylindrical fiber in the fresh state, and vice versa.

In order to strengthen flood risk management in a river basin, to upgrade the capability of flood control, and to reduce the loss of lives and properties in urban areas, a numerical simulation model using 2D shallow water equations was proposed in this study. A satisfactory result has been obtained by applying the model in the Fuji River basin in central Japan. The result indicates that the numerical simulation model proposed can be adopted not only in the risk management of a river basin, but also in the study of realtime operations of rescue jobs and evacuation routes in a municipal region suffering from a serious flooding event.

Renewable energy does not simply equal to using a photovoltaic (PV) board. In addition to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineering considerations, the design approaches of architects are crucial to the utilization condition and methods of renewable energy. Through profound comprehension of the relationship between renewableenergy utilization and design approaches, we can achieve a dual-standard of building environment performance and esthetics.

In this article, the mechanical characteristics of the squeeze of the F7 fault of the Wushaoling Tunnel are analyzed. The measurements and techniques are proposed to resist the deformation. The result indicates that the method of construction to control the further squeeze deflection is appropriate.