The simulation of damage process of high arch dam subjected to strong earthquake shocks is significant to the evaluation of its performance and seismic safety, considering the catastrophic effect of dam failure. However, such numerical simulation requires rigorous computational capacity. Conventional serial computing falls short of that and parallel computing is a fairly promising solution to t...

The “cracking an open safe” methodology has been used to tabulate HAZUS-based seismic vulnerability as functions of structure-independent intensity, while avoiding iteration in the structural analysis. The vulnerability functions give mean damage factor (MDF, defined here as mean repair cost as a fraction of replacement cost) versus 5%-damped elastic spectral acceleration response at 0.3-second...

We deployed a dense linear array of 45 seismometers across and along the San Andreas fault near Parkfield a week after the M 6.0 Parkfield earthquake on 28 September 2004 to record fault-zone seismic waves generated by aftershocks and explosions. Seismic stations and explosions were co-sited with our previous experiment conducted in 2002. The data from repeated shots detonated in the fall of 20...

This research investigated the relation between main earthquake parameters by incorporating information about ground motions and difference in fundamental period. period is one method of assessing structural damage because it can express potential from an earthquake. Three RC (3-, 9- 12-story) frames have been analyzed under far-fault records using nonlinear dynamic analysis. Mathematical metho...

The Wenchuan Earthquake on May 12, 2008, devastated a vast area in Sichuan, China. The swift rescue and disaster management measures of the Chinese government have been supported by radar remote sensing from the very beginning. The new high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, like COSMO-SkyMed and TerraSAR-X, have been used for damage assessment and rapid mapping. Unfortunatel...

In recent decades, the dual systems of steel moment-resisting frames and RC shear walls have found extensive application as lateral load-resisting systems for high-rise structures in seismically active areas. This paper investigated the effectiveness of tuned mass damper (TMD), viscous damper, friction damper, and the lead-core rubber bearing in controlling the damage and seismic response of hi...

Disaster risk reduction has become a global urgent need. Similarly to other natural hazards, earthquakes may cause significant damages on a large scale. In Europe, seismic events mainly affect historical city centers, which are characterized by dense urban structure, usually constituted by ancient masonry and pre-code R.C. buildings, often in aggregate sequence. Historical city centers are very...

The effect of cumulative damage on the strength requirements of degrading structures is assessed through the evaluation of the target ductility and corresponding strength reduction factors of simple degrading structures. While the reduction on ductility is established through the use of Park and Ang index, the suggestions given by Bojórquez and Rivera are used to model the degradation of the st...