Wavelet-based response spectrum compatible synthesis of accelerograms-Eurocode application (EC8)

An integrated approach for addressing the problem of synthesizing artificial seismic accelerograms compatible with a given displacement design/target spectrum is presented in conjunction with aseismic design applications. Initially, a stochastic dynamics solution is used to obtain a family of simulated non-stationary earthquake records whose response spectrum is on the average in good agreement with the target spectrum. The degree of the agreement depends significantly on the adoption of an appropriate parametric evolutionary power spectral form, which is related to the target spectrum in an approximate manner. The performance of two commonly used spectral forms along with a newly proposed one is assessed with respect to the elastic displacement design spectrum defined by the European code regulations (EC8). Subsequently, the computational versatility of the family of harmonic wavelets is employed to modify iteratively the simulated records to satisfy the compatibility criteria for artificial accelerograms prescribed by EC8. In the process, baseline correction steps, ordinarily taken to ensure that the obtained accelerograms are characterized by physically meaningful velocity and displacement traces, are elucidated. Obviously, the presented approach can be used not only in the case of the EC8, for which extensive numerical results/examples are included, but also for any code provisions mandated by regulatory agencies. In any case, the presented numerical results can be quite useful in any aseismic design process dominated by the EC8 specifications

Determination of design spectrum compatible evolutionary spectra via Monte Carlo peak factor estimation

The problem of generating ensembles of artificial non-stationary earthquake accelerograms compatible with a given (target) response/design spectrum is cast on a stochastic basis. The design spectrum of the European aseismic code provisions (EC8) for various soil conditions and damping ratios is used as a paradigm of a design/target spectrum. The generated accelerograms are construed as realizations of a non-stationary random process; they are char-acterized in the frequency domain by a parametrically defined evolutionary power spectrum (EPS). An appropriate least squared optimization problem is formulated for the determination of the parameters of the EPS. The solution of this problem involves the incorporation of a “peak factor” which is used to re-late the target spectrum to the EPS in a probabilistic context. To this end, a comprehensive Monte Carlo study is undertaken to estimate numerically the statistical properties of the peak factor from appropriately computed popula-tions, and to derive polynomial expressions for the median frequency-dependent peak factors (peak factor spectra). These expressions are used in conjunction with the herein adopted optimization problem to determine EPSs compatible with the EC8 design spectrum. The derived median peak factor spectra yield an excellent level of agreement between the EC8 spectrum and the ensemble average and median response spectra of simulated EPS-compatible ensembles of accelerograms

Derivation of Eurocode 8 spectrum-compatible time-histories from recorded seismic accelerograms via harmonic wavelets

A computationally efficient harmonic wavelet-based iterative procedure is proposed to modify suites of recorded accelerograms to be used in the aseismic design of critical structures regulated by the European code provisions (EC8). Special attention is focused on assessing the potential of appropriately defined orthogonal harmonic wavelet basis functions to derive design spectrum compatible time-histories which preserve the non-stationary characteristics of the original recorded signals. This is a quite desirable attribute in the practice of the aseismic design of yielding structures. In this regard, seven recorded accelerograms recommended for the design of base-isolated structures are modified via the proposed procedure and base-line adjusted to meet the pertinent EC8 compatibility criteria. The instantaneous energy (IE) and the mean instantaneous frequency (MIF) of the modified EC8 compatible time-histories extracted from appropriate wavelet-based signal time-frequency analyses are compared vis-à-vis the IE and MIF of the corresponding original accelerograms. Examining these numerical results, it is established that the herein proposed procedure is a useful tool for processing recorded accelerograms in cases where accounting for the time-varying energy content and frequency composition of strong ground motions associated with historic seismic events is deemed essential in aseismic design

Statistical linearization based estimation of the peak response of nonlinear systems subject to the EC8 design spectrum

A stochastic approach is proposed to obtain reliable estimates of the peak response of nonlinear systems to excitations specified via a response∕design seismic spectrum. This is achieved without resorting to numerical integration of the governing nonlinear equations of motion. First, a numerical scheme is utilized to derive a power spectrum which is compatible in a stochastic sense to a given elastic design spectrum. This spectrum is then treated as the excitation spectrum in the context of the statistical linearization method to determine effective parameters, damping and stiffness, corresponding to an equivalent linear system (ELS). The obtained parameters are used in conjunction with the linear design spectrum, for various values of damping, to estimate the response of certain nonlinear systems. The case of single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems with cubic stiffness nonlinearity and hysteretic systems whose restoring force traces a bilinear law are considered in conjunction with the elastic design spectrum prescribed by the European aseismic code provisions (EC8). Monte Carlo simulations pertaining to an ensemble of non‐stationary EC 8 design spectrum compatible accelerograms are conducted to confirm that the average peak response of the nonlinear systems compare reasonably well with that of the ELS. This is true, even in cases where the response of the nonlinear oscillators deviates significantly from the linear one. In this manner, the proposed approach yields ELS which can reliably replace the original nonlinear systems in carrying out computationally efficient analyses in the initial stages of the aseismic design of structures under severe seismic excitations. Furthermore, the potential of this approach for developing inelastic design spectra from a given elastic design spectrum is established

A stochastic approach to synthesizing response spectrum compatible seismic accelerograms

Regulatory agencies require the use of artificial accelerograms satisfying specific criteria of compatibility with a given design spectrum, as input for certain types of analyses for the aseismic design of critical facilities. Most of the numerical methods for simulating seismic motions compatible with a specified design (target) spectrum proposed by various researchers require that a number of real recorded seismic accelerograms of appropriate frequency content is available. To by-pass this requirement, a previously established in the literature probabilistic approach to yield simulated earthquake records whose response spectrum achieves on average a certain level of agreement with a target spectrum is employed in the present paper. At the core of the above method lies the adoption of an appropriate parametric power spectrum model capable of accounting for various site-specific soil conditions. In this regard, the potential of two different, commonly, used spectral forms is evaluated for this purpose in context with the design spectrum defined by the European Code provisions. Next, an iterative wavelet-based matching procedure is applied to the thus acquired records to enhance, individually, the agreement of the corresponding response spectra with the targeted one. Special attention is paid to ensure that the velocity and the displacement time histories associated with the finally obtained artificial accelerograms are physically sound by means of appropriate baseline correction techniques

Algorithmic options for joint time-frequency analysis in structural dynamics applications

The purpose of this paper is to present recent research efforts by the authors supporting the superiority of joint time-frequency analysis over the traditional Fourier transform in the study of non-stationary signals commonly encountered in the fields of earthquake engineering, and structural dynamics. In this respect, three distinct signal processing techniques appropriate for the representation of signals in the time-frequency plane are considered. Namely, the harmonic wavelet transform, the adaptive chirplet decomposition, and the empirical mode decomposition, are utilized to analyze certain seismic accelerograms, and structural response records. Numerical examples associated with the inelastic dynamic response of a seismically-excited 3-story benchmark steel-frame building are included to show how the mean-instantaneous-frequency, as derived by the aforementioned techniques, can be used as an indicator of global structural damage