Effect of dynamic soil-pile-structure interaction on seismic response of mid-rise moment resisting frames

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Seismic behaviour of structures built on soft soils is influenced by the soil properties and the foundation type, where the response is significantly different from the fixed base condition owing to the interaction between the ground and the structure. Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) reduces the natural frequency of the system and increases the effective damping ratio of the system, for typical soils and foundations, in comparison with the fixed-base structure. This can considerably alter the response of the building frames under the seismic excitation by influencing the structural demand of the building as well as amplifying the lateral deflections and inter storey drifts of the superstructure. This amplification of lateral deformations due to SSI may change the performance level of buildings in the performance based design approach, which should be considered with great rigor accounting for the influence of SSI significantly influenced by the foundation type (i.e. shallow and deep foundation), in order to provide safe and cost effective design against the natural disasters such as earthquake. In this study, in order to provide a benchmark to verify and calibrate the numerical model as well as experimentally investigate the influence of SSI on the seismic response of buildings, a series of shaking table tests on the soil-foundation-structure models are conducted at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) structures laboratory. Different foundation types such as shallow foundation, floating pile foundation, end-bearing pile foundation as well as fixed base condition, excluding SSI interaction, are physically modelled. A laminar soil container is designed and constructed to simulate the free field soil response by minimising boundary effects. Simulating the superstructure as a multi-storey frame during the shaking table tests makes experimental data unique. Accordingly, in the current shaking table tests, by adopting the same soil properties, same superstructure, same input motions, and same test setup, a clear comparison is provided between the structural responses for different types of foundations. The experimental results indicate that soil-structure interaction amplifies the lateral deflections and inter-storey drifts of the structures supported by different types of foundations. However, the choice of the foundation type influences the structural performance significantly and should be addressed carefully in investigating the influence of SSI on the superstructure response during shaking excitations. A fully nonlinear three-dimensional numerical model employing FLAC3D is developed to perform time-history analysis and simulate the performance of the superstructure considering the seismic soil-structure interaction. Hysteretic damping of the soil is implemented to represent the variation of the shear modulus reduction factor and the damping ratio of the soil with the cyclic shear strain. Free field boundary conditions are assigned to the numerical model and appropriate interface elements, capable of modelling sliding and separation between the pile and soil elements, are considered. The developed numerical model is verified and validated against the conducted shaking table results. Comparison of the numerical predictions and the experimental data shows a good agreement confirming the reliability of the numerical model. Consequently, the proposed numerical model is a reliable method of simulation which can be employed for further numerical investigations concerning the dynamic soil-structure interaction. Practicing engineers can adopt this verified numerical modelling procedure in the design to consider the effect of SSI. Furthermore, in order to investigate the different characteristics of SSI and its influence on the seismic response of superstructures, parametric studies with respect to different types of foundations are conducted employing the previously verified three-dimensional numerical modelling procedure. A full scale fifteen storey structure (prototype) with four different types of foundations, namely, (i) fixed-base structure representing the situation excluding the soil-structure interaction, (ii) structure supported by a shallow foundation, (iii) structure supported by a pile-raft foundation in soft soil, and (iii) structure supported by a floating (frictional) pile foundation in soft soil, are simulated. According to the results of the numerical investigations, the properties of the in situ soil influence the characteristics of the excitation in terms of peak acceleration and frequency content. Moreover, the reduction ratio of the shear forces of superstructure due to SSI is a function of the foundation type, while the magnitude of this reduction is different for different levels in the superstructure. Accounting for the rocking-dissipation concept, results of this study can help the practicing engineers in selecting the proper foundation type for the structures. The foundation types experiencing considerable amount of rocking during an earthquake, dissipate significant amount of earthquake energy in comparison with the other types of foundations, and this rocking-dissipation in turn results in directing less shear forces to the superstructure and reducing the structural demand of the superstructure

On the Order of the Schur Multiplier of a Pair of Finite p-Groups

In 1998, G. Ellis defined the Schur multiplier of a pair $(G,N)$ of groups and mentioned that this notion is a useful tool for studying pairs of groups. In this paper, we characterize the structure of a pair of finite $p$-groups $(G,N)$ in terms of the order of the Schur multiplier of $(G,N)$ under some conditions.Comment: 11 pages, to appear in Journal of Advanced Research in Pure Mathematic

Significance of bedrock depth in dynamic soil-structure interaction analysis for moment resisting frames

In this study, a fifteen storey moment resisting building frame, resting on a shallow foundation, is selected in conjunction with two clayey soils with the shear wave velocities less than 600m/s, representing soil classes De and Ee, according to AS 1170.4. Different bedrock depths including 10m, 20m, and 30 m are employed in the numerical modelling using finite difference software FLAC 2D. Fully nonlinear dynamic analysis under the influence of different earthquake records is conducted, and the results of the three different cases are compared and discussed. The results indicate that the dynamic properties of the subsoil such as shear wave velocity as well as bedrock depth play significant roles in seismic response of the building frames under the influence of soil-structure interaction. As the bedrock depth increases, lateral deflections and inter-storey drifts of the structures increase. These effects can change the performance level of structures from life safe to near collapse or total collapse. Therefore, the conventional design procedure excluding SSI is not adequate enough to guarantee the structural safety for the building frames resting on soft soil deposits

Effects of soil-pile-structure interaction on seismic response of moment resisting buildings on soft soil

Dynamic response of structures sitting on soft soils is influenced by the soil properties, and the response is significantly different to the fixed base condition owing to the interaction between the ground and the structure, In order to study this effect, a fifteen storey moment resisting building frame, representing a conventional type of regular mid-rise building frame, resting ,on soil type Ee according to Australian Earthquake action code with the shear wave velocity equal to 150 mls is adopted. The numerical analysis using FLAC2D software is carried out for three different cases, namely: (1) fixed-base structure representing the situation excluding the soil-structure interaction (SSI); (2) structure supported by shallow foundation on soft soil; and (3) structure supported by pile foundation in soft soil. Benchmark earthquakes including the 1995 Kobe, the 1994 Northridge, the 1968 Hachinohe, and the 1940 EI Centro earthquakes are adopted. Results indicate that considering soil-structure interaction in both cases with shallow and pile fouudations is vital, and the conventional desigu procedure excluding soil-structure interaction is not adequate to guarantee the structural safety for the moment resisting buildings resting on the soft soil

Capability of a pair of groups

Abstract A group G is called capable if it is the group of inner automorphisms of some group E. Capable pairs are defined in terms of a relative central extension. In this paper we introduce the precise center for a pair of groups and prove that this subgroup makes a criterion for characterizing the capability of the pair. We also show that our result sharpens the obtained result in this area. A complete classification of finitely generated abelian capable pairs will also be given

LIDAR-INERTIAL LOCALIZATION WITH GROUND CONSTRAINT IN A POINT CLOUD MAP

Real-time localization is a crucial task in various applications, such as automatic vehicles (AV), robotics, and smart city. This study proposes a framework for map-aided LiDAR-inertial localization, with the objective of accurately estimating the trajectory in a point clouds map. The proposed framework addresses the localization problem through a factor graph optimization (FGO), enabling the fusion of homogenous measurements for sensor fusion and designed absolute and relative constraints. Specifically, the framework estimates the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) odometry by leveraging inertial measurement unit (IMU) and registering corresponding featured points. To eliminate the accumulative error, this paper employs a ground plane distance and a map matching error to constraint the positioning error along the trajectory. Finally, local odometry and constraints are integrated using a FGO, including LiDAR odometry, IMU pre-integration, and ground constraints, map matching constraints, and loop closure. Experimental results were evaluated on an open-source dataset, UrbanNav, with an overall localization accuracy of 2.29 m (root mean square error, RMSE)

Decompressive surgery in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis due to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia

Background and purpose: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis due to vaccine-induced im-mune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (CVST-VITT) is an adverse drug reaction occurring after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2) vaccination. CVST-VITT patients often present with large intracerebral haemorrhages and a high proportion undergoes decompressive surgery. Clinical characteristics, therapeutic management and outcomes of CVST-VITT patients who underwent decompressive surgery are described and predictors of in- hospital mortality in these patients are explored.Methods: Data from an ongoing international registry of patients who developed CVST within 28 days of SARS-CoV- 2 vaccination, reported between 29 March 2021 and 10 May 2022, were used. Definite, probable and possible VITT cases, as defined by Pavord et al. (N Engl J Med 2021; 385: 1680–1689), were included. Results: Decompressive surgery was performed in 34/128 (27%) patients with CVST- VITT. In- hospital mortality was 22/34 (65%) in the surgical and 27/94 (29%) in the non- surgical group (p< 0.001). In all surgical cases, the cause of death was brain herniation. The highest mortality rates were found amongst patients with preoperative coma (17/18, 94% vs. 4/14, 29% in the non-comatose; p< 0.001) and bilaterally absent pupillary re-flexes (7/7, 100% vs. 6/9, 67% with unilaterally reactive pupil, and 4/11, 36% with bi-laterally reactive pupils; p= 0.023). Postoperative imaging revealed worsening of index haemorrhagic lesion in 19 (70%) patients and new haemorrhagic lesions in 16 (59%) pa-tients. At a median follow-up of 6 months, 8/10 of surgical CVST-VITT who survived ad-mission were functionally independent.Conclusions: Almost two-thirds of surgical CVST-VITT patients died during hospital ad-mission. Preoperative coma and bilateral absence of pupillary responses were associated with higher mortality rates. Survivors often achieved functional independence.Peer reviewe

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Mortality

Background and purpose: Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). Results: There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P&lt;0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P&lt;0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. Conclusions: During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis due to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia in middle-income countries

Background: Adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccines are extensively used in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Remarkably, cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis due to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (CVST-VITT) have rarely been reported from LMICs. Aims: We studied the frequency, manifestations, treatment, and outcomes of CVST-VITT in LMICs. Methods: We report data from an international registry on CVST after COVID-19 vaccination. VITT was classified according to the Pavord criteria. We compared CVST-VITT cases from LMICs to cases from high-income countries (HICs). Results: Until August 2022, 228 CVST cases were reported, of which 63 were from LMICs (all middle-income countries [MICs]: Brazil, China, India, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey). Of these 63, 32 (51%) met the VITT criteria, compared to 103 of 165 (62%) from HICs. Only 5 of the 32 (16%) CVST-VITT cases from MICs had definite VITT, mostly because anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies were often not tested. The median age was 26 (interquartile range [IQR] 20–37) versus 47 (IQR 32–58) years, and the proportion of women was 25 of 32 (78%) versus 77 of 103 (75%) in MICs versus HICs, respectively. Patients from MICs were diagnosed later than patients from HICs (1/32 [3%] vs. 65/103 [63%] diagnosed before May 2021). Clinical manifestations, including intracranial hemorrhage, were largely similar as was intravenous immunoglobulin use. In-hospital mortality was lower in MICs (7/31 [23%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 11–40]) than in HICs (44/102 [43%, 95% CI 34–53], p = 0.039). Conclusions: The number of CVST-VITT cases reported from LMICs was small despite the widespread use of adenoviral vaccines. Clinical manifestations and treatment of CVST-VITT cases were largely similar in MICs and HICs, while mortality was lower in patients from MICs.</p