Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of tau leptons in pp collisions

Peer reviewe

Measurement of top quark–antiquark pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Searches for electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons decaying to leptons and W, Z, and Higgs bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurement of prompt J/ψ pair production in pp collisions at √s = 7 Tev

Peer reviewe

Study of hadronic event-shape variables in multijet final states in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Constraints on parton distribution functions and extraction of the strong coupling constant from the inclusive jet cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Seismic assessment of a heavy-timber frame structure with ring-doweled moment-resisting connections

The performance of heavy-timber structures in earthquakes depends strongly on the inelastic behavior of the mechanical connections. Nevertheless, the nonlinear behavior of timber structures is only considered in the design phase indirectly through the use of an R-factor or a q-factor, which reduces the seismic elastic response spectrum. To improve the estimation of this, the seismic performance of a three-story building designed with ring-doweled moment resisting connections is analyzed here. Connections and members were designed to fulfill the seismic detailing requirements present in Eurocode 5 and Eurocode 8 for high ductility class structures. The performance of the structure is evaluated through a probabilistic approach, which accounts for uncertainties in mechanical properties of members and connections. Nonlinear static analyses and multi-record incremental dynamic analyses were performed to characterize the q-factor and develop fragility curves for different damage levels. The results indicate that the detailing requirements of Eurocode 5 and Eurocode 8 are sufficient to achieve the required performance, even though they also indicate that these requirements may be optimized to achieve more cost-effective connections and members. From the obtained fragility curves, it was verified that neglecting modeling uncertainties may lead to overestimation of the collapse capacity

Reliability-based method for assessing liquefaction potential of soils

This paper describes a probabilistic method for assessing the liquefaction potential of sandy soils. The proposed probabilistic method is formulated based on the results of reliability analyses of 225 field records, observations of soil performance against liquefaction. The results of the present study show that a meaningful mapping between notional probability and an actual relative frequency measure of the occurrence of liquefaction can be obtained with the proposed method. Twenty case records from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake are further analyzed to demonstrate the proposed reliability-based method. The developed method has the potential of becoming a practical tool for engineers involved in the assessment of liquefaction potential

CPT-based liquefaction analysis, Part 1: Determination of limit state function

This paper is the first of a set of two papers that address the issue of earthquake-induced liquefaction potential. In this paper, a CPT-based limit state function for assessing the cyclic liquefaction resistance of sandy soils is presented, The Liquefaction resistance of a soil is generally expressed as cyclic resistance ratio (CRR), while the seismic load that causes liquefaction is expressed as cyclic stress ratio (CSR), By definition, CRR is equal to the maximum CSR that a soil can sustain without the occurrence of cyclic liquefaction, In the present study, a new method to establish a limit state function for evaluating cyclic liquefaction resistance is developed. This new method is based on an artificial neural network (ANN) modelling and analysis of 225 field liquefaction performance records. First, an ANN model is developed to predict the occurrence of liquefaction based on historic field performance records. Second, a search procedure is developed to locate data points on the limit state surface. Third, another ANN model is created to approximate the multi-variable limit state function, The established approximate function, an ANN model, can be used to determine the CRR of a soil using CPT data. The developed CPT-based Limit state function forms the basis for the development of a risk-based method for assessing, cyclic liquefaction potential

Analysis of concrete placement load effects using influence surfaces

A simplified analysis procedure for construction load effects based on the concept of an influence surface is presented. This method can be used to estimate the distribution of shoring loads due to concrete placement and explain the location and magnitude of the maximum shoring load. Since this method is much simpler than performing a complex three-dimensional structural analysis, it has the potential for use by engineers in the design of formwork systems