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In this paper, based on maximizing the outrigger-belt truss system’s strain energy, a methodology for determining the optimum location of a flexible outrigger system is presented. Tall building structures with combined systems of framed tube, shear core, belt truss and outrigger system are modeled using continuum approach. In this approach, the framed tube system is modeled as a cantilevered beam with box cross section. The effect of outrigger and shear core systems on framed tube’s response under lateral loading is modeled by a rotational spring placed at the location of belt truss and outrigger system. Optimum location of this spring is obtained when energy absorbed by the spring is maximized. For this purpose, first derivative of the energy equation with respect to spring location as measured from base of the structure, is set to zero. Optimum location for outrigger and belt truss system is calculated for three types of lateral loadings, i.e. uniformly and triangularly distributed loads along structure’s height, and concentrated load at top of the structure. Accuracy of the proposed method is verified through numerical examples. The results show that the proposed method is reasonably accurate. In addition, for different stiffness of shear core and outrigger system, several figures are presented that can be used to determine the optimum location of belt truss and outrigger system.

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Cumulative absolute velocity (CAV), Arias intensity (AI), and characteristic intensity (CI) are measurable characteristics to show collapse potential of structures, evaluation of earth movement magnitude, and detection of structural failure in an earthquake. In this paper, parameters which describe three characteristics of ground motion have been investigated by using wavelet transforms (WT). In fact, in this paper, a series of twenty eight earthquake records (ER) are decomposed to a pre-defined certain levels by the use of WT. The high and low frequencies are separated. Since higher frequencies do not have any significant effect on the ER, then the low frequencies of ER have been used. For this purpose, each ER is decomposed into 5 levels. Then, for low frequencies of ER, the CAV, AI, and CI are calculated for each level and the results are compared with the values of CAV, AI, and CI which have been computed for the original ER. The results indicate that the value of error is less than 1 percent in the first and second level and this value is less than 10 percent for the third level. In addition, this value is more than 15 percent for the fourth and fifth levels. If the acceptable value for error is considered to be less than 10 percent, it is recommended to use the third level of decomposition for determining these parameters, since the value of error is low and also, the required time is reduced.

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Many researches have focused on the optimal design of tuned mass damper (TMD) system without the effect of soil–structure interaction (SSI), so that ignoring the effect of SSI may lead to an undesirable and unrealistic design of TMD. Furthermore, many optimization criteria have been proposed for the optinal design of the TMD system. Hence, the main aim of this study is to compare different optimization criteria for the optimal design of the TMD system considering the effects of SSI in a high–rise building. To acheive this purpose, the optimal TMD for a 40–storey shear building is firstly evaluated by expressing the objective functions in terms of the reduction of structural responses (including the displacement and acceleration) and the limitation of the scaled stroke of TMD. Then, the best optimization criterion is selected, which leads to the best performance for the vibration control of the structure. In this study, the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) is employed to optimize the parameters of the TMD system. The numerical results show that the soil type and selected objective function efficiently affect the optimal design of the TMD system.

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Nowadays, steel shear walls are used as efficient lateral-load-resistant systems due to their high lateral stiffness and carrying capacity. In this paper, the effect of substituting a shape memory alloy (SMA) material is investigated instead of using conventional steel in the shear wall. A numerical study is conducted using finite element method (FEM) by OpenSees software. For this purpose, at first, to verify the numerical simulation, the results of the experimental data are compared with those obtained from the numerical phase. Finally, the behavior of a one-bay three-story steel frame equipped with shear walls made of conventional steel, shape memory alloy and a combination of these two materials are studied when the structure is subjected to cyclic and seismic loadings. Results indicate that the use of shape memory alloy increases the maximum deformation, the yield displacement, and also the loading capacity of the structure. Also, it decreases the residual deformation of the structure and its initial stiffness. In general, using composite materials of conventional steel and shape memory alloy can reduce the maximum value of compression axial load of the column and, as a result, increase maximum rotation at the connections. In addition, the minimum and maximum values of base shear occurred in the model with 50% and 25% of Ni-Ti SMA material, respectively.

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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term vertical deformations of segmented pre-tensioned concrete bridges by a new approach. It provides a practical and reliable method for calculating the amount of long-term deformation based on creep and shrinkage in segmented prestress bridges. There are various relationships for estimating the creep and shrinkage of concrete. The analytical results of existing models can be very different, and the results are not reliable. In this paper, the different existing relationships are written in MATLAB software. After calculation, the values of the creep and shrinkage are stored. Then a sample bridge is simulated in the CSI-Bridge software, and different values of creep and shrinkage are allocated separately. Therefore, the data are analyzed, and its maximum deformation value is extracted at a critical span (D_v-max). Assigning different amount of creep and shrinkage to the model results in different values  of D_v-max. In the next step, all D_v-max values  resulting from the change in creep and shrinkage contents should be re-introduced to MATLAB code to perform the calculation of the failure curve, and extract the corresponding D_v-max values at 95% probability. In a new approach, fragility curves are used to obtain the corresponding creep and shrinkage values corresponding to the desired probability percentage. Thus, instead of simulating several models, only one model is simulated. The results of the analysis of a bridge sample in this study indicate acceptable accuracy of the proposed solution for the 95% probability.

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The utilization of passive energy dissipation systems has been created a revolution in the structural engineering industry due to their advantages. Fluid Viscous Damper (FVD) is one of these control systems. It has been used in many different industries, such as the army, aerospace, bridge, and building structures. One of the essential questions about this system is how it can combine with the bracing system to enhance its abilities. In this paper, a comparison between the responses of a twelve-story steel building retrofitted by four layouts of bracings systems (i.e., chevron, diagonal, toggle, and X-brace) is studied. These bracing systems are equipped by FVD to find the optimum layout for these systems. Buildings are modeled nonlinearity and excited by an earthquake (Manjil earthquake). For this purpose, the Fast Nonlinear Analysis (FNA) is performed using the SAP2000 software. The results show that FVD alters some of the structural behaviors such as inter-story drift when combining with a chevron-bracing system. As a result, it can decrease the motion induced by the earthquake significantly. Besides, the results show that the chevron model has the best performance for the high-rise building in comparison with the other studied systems. As a result, for toggle, chevron, and diagonal bracing systems, the formation of link damper could absorb 66%, 72%, and 79% of input energy instead of modal damping energy, respectively.

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Seismic analysis of structures is a process for estimating the response of structures subjected to earthquakes. For this purpose, the earthquake ­is analyzed using the wavelet theory. In this paper, the primary signal of the earthquake is decomposed through a discrete wavelet transform, and their corresponding response spectrum is obtained. Then, the percentage difference between the decomposed signals and the main one is computed. Therefore, for different earthquakes, a comparison between the response spectrum is studied in various types of dams. The acceleration, velocity, and displacement responses are computed and compared to achieve an appropriate level of decomposition, which can be used instead of the primary signal. Therefore, the decomposition process leads to attaining acceptable accuracy as well as low computational cost. The investigation revealed that the acceleration, velocity, and displacement responses spectrum are suitable up to the third level of decomposition for the small and medium dams, whereas for large dams, up to the fifth level of decomposition is suitable.

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Explosions are inevitable in today’s world; therefore, building structures may be dynamically loaded by an intense loading during the explosion. This is why regulatory bodies have provided instructions for determining the response of structures under the explosion load. Previous research has shown that when the explosion happens close to a structure, the ground explosion load can be modeled as tensile and compressive loads. This research investigates the response of an elastic-plastic single-degree-of-freedom system subjected to different explosive loads with different positive durations. The maximum intensity of blast load and blast duration remains constant, and the positive phase duration is the only variable that changes. The nonlinear dynamic responses of a single-degree-of-freedom system (i.e., displacement, velocity, acceleration, and ductility) are calculated using the linear acceleration method. The results show that increasing the positive phase duration and the amount of positive impact can increase the maximum displacement and ductility of the system. Also, it can be concluded that the maximum acceleration of the studied systems remains constant when the values for the blast impact and positive phase durations change.
 

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Improving the quality of open spaces and human comfort is necessary for more human-inaccessible spaces. Therefore, bus stations as open spaces for traveling thousands of people continuously are considered essential in absorbing sun rays and providing comfort. This paper investigates the performance of BRT stations in Tehran province in the summer, considering the highest shading. The second stage proposes a new graphic cable-stayed roof to compare the sun's path and shade. Ten stations of Moein-Tajrish terminals with South-North orientation were selected in this regard. Then, all the station details were calculated and analyzed in the Grasshopper Modeling Software. And the shadow and sunlight were evaluated and analyzed during the summer months between 12 am to 2 pm at noon. In order to evaluate the compatibility of the selected samples, three variables, including orientation, the height of the awning, and the slope of the awning, were considered orientation of 5, the height of 1, and the gradient of 19 introduced as the most optimal model. Also, studies and analyses were carried out in Honey Bee & Ladybug plugins, including Qualitative Analysis, Hourly Quantitative Analysis, and Energy Quantitative Analysis. The results showed that the selected case sample is more than 55% in the desired shading. The second stage proposes a new graphic cable-stayed roof to compare the sun's path and shade for the structure.