Within- and Between-Event Variabilities of Strong-Velocity Pulses of Moderate Earthquakes within Dense Seismic Arrays

Author(s):  
Ming-Hsuan Yen ◽  
Sebastian von Specht ◽  
Yen-Yu Lin ◽  
Fabrice Cotton ◽  
Kuo-Fong Ma

ABSTRACT Ground motion with strong-velocity pulses can cause significant damage to buildings and structures at certain periods; hence, knowing the period and velocity amplitude of such pulses is critical for earthquake structural engineering. However, the physical factors relating the scaling of pulse periods with magnitude are poorly understood. In this study, we investigate moderate but damaging earthquakes (Mw 6–7) and characterize ground-motion pulses using the method of Shahi and Baker (2014) while considering the potential static-offset effects. We confirm that the within-event variability of the pulses is large. The identified pulses in this study are mostly from strike-slip-like earthquakes. We further perform simulations using the frequency–wavenumber algorithm to investigate the causes of the variability of the pulse periods within and between events for moderate strike-slip earthquakes. We test the effect of fault dips, and the impact of the asperity locations and sizes. The simulations reveal that the asperity properties have a high impact on the pulse periods and amplitudes at nearby stations. Our results emphasize the importance of asperity characteristics, in addition to earthquake magnitudes for the occurrence and properties of pulses produced by the forward directivity effect. We finally quantify and discuss within- and between-event variabilities of pulse properties at short distances.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Jinping Yang ◽  
Peizhen Li ◽  
Hang Jing ◽  
Meng Gao

This paper studies the influence of the characteristics of the near-fault ground motion on the seismic responses of the structure with energy dissipation devices including soil-structure interaction (SSI). A ten-story reinforced concrete frame rested on soft site is introduced, and the viscous dampers added in the frame are designed. The numerical analysis method of the soil-structure system with viscous dampers is established through ANSYS program. In addition, the response spectra of the main characteristics of the near-fault ground motion, like hanging wall effect, velocity pulse-like effect, and forward-directivity effect, are investigated carefully to learn the features of spectra energy distribution. And then, the dynamic time-history analysis is performed on the SSI system with and without viscous dampers subjected to the selected near-fault ground motion. The study reveals that the seismic responses of the structure subjected to near-fault ground motion with hanging wall effect are obviously larger than those of the footwall effect, indicating the distinct hanging wall effects on the structural dynamic responses. In addition, the performance of the structure with viscous dampers is more influenced by the ground motion containing fling-step effect than that with forward-directivity effect. Moreover, the influence of the horizontal component of forward-directivity ground motion on the seismic responses of the structure is more obvious than that of parallel component ground motion. Consequently, the hanging wall effect, velocity pulse, and horizontal component in forward-directivity effect of the near-fault ground motion have distinct influence on the seismic responses of the structure with energy dissipation devices considering SSI effect, providing insight towards the performance-based seismic design of buildings rested at the near-fault sites considering the seismic SSI effect.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tettey

Under-fermentation of cocoa beans produces purple beans. The fermentation period is 6 to 7 days but some cocoa farmersunder-ferment their cocoa beans leading to the development of purple cocoa beans. This study determined the impact of insectinfestation on stored purple cocoa beans. Wet cocoa beans were fermented for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days to produce the purple beans.Ephestia cautella and Tribolium castaneum, both singly and in combination, were introduced into the cocoa beans and storedfor different (30, 60, 90 and 120 days) period. Insect population, percentage weight loss and the contaminants produced bythese insects were determined. Cocoa beans infested with E. cautella alone had the highest population of 297.0 ± 22.7. Beansfermented for 3 days had the lowest insect population both singly and in combination after 120 days of storage. The highestpercentage weight loss was recorded in cocoa beans fermented for one day (10.1 ± 1.87%) and 4 days (10.1 ± 8.74%). T.castaneum did not cause much damage to the cocoa beans but E. cautella alone caused significant damage to stored cocoabeans. Insect infestation and poor fermentation contribute significantly to the reduction in quality of cocoa beans.


Author(s):  
Nina M. Meshchakova ◽  
Marina P. Dyakovich ◽  
Salim F. Shayakhmetov

Introduction.Methanol and its derivatives occupy one of the leading places among the main organic synthesis intermediates in terms of their importance and scale of production. According to experts, by 2027 the global demand for methanol can reach 135 million tons, the annual growth will be about 5.5%. However, there is little information regarding the assessment of working conditions and occupational risks for workers in modern methanol production and its derivatives.The aim of the studyis hygienic assessment of working conditions and the formation of health risks in workers of modern production of methanol and methylamines.Materials and methods.The assessment of the main adverse factors of production is given. When studying the state of health, objective indicators (the results of an in-depth medical examination) and subjective (the results of a quantitative assessment of the risks of the main pathological syndromes associated with health) are considered.Results.According to long-term observations, the concentration of harmful substances in the air of the working area, indicators of labor severity, parameters of physical factors met hygienic requirements, with the exception of industrial noise exceeding the maximum permissible level, as well as labor intensity of 1 degree. The General assessment of working conditions corresponds to the category of harmful 2 degrees (3.2). According to the results of the medical examination and quantitative assessment of the risks of health disorders in workers, the most significant were functional disorders and diseases of the circulatory system. The levels of somatic pathology on the part of the main body systems were significantly higher in apparatchiks compared to the engineering and technical personnel (ETP).Conclusions:In the production of methyl alcohol and methylamines, the main hygienic importance is the impact on workers of the complex of harmful substances of 1-IV hazard classes in low concentrations, increased levels of industrial noise, labor intensity of 1 degree. According to the subjective assessment of health and medical examination, the greatest prevalence of health risks in workers was observed from the circulatory system, and the levels of the revealed somatic pathology were statistically significantly higher in apparatchiks compared with the ETP.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 502
Author(s):  
Junior Corneille Fingu-Mabola ◽  
Frédéric Francis

Aphids are responsible for the spread of more than half of the known phytovirus species. Virus transmission within the plant–aphid–phytovirus pathosystem depends on vector mobility which allows the aphid to reach its host plant and on vector efficiency in terms of ability to transmit phytoviruses. However, several other factors can influence the phytoviruses transmission process and have significant epidemiological consequences. In this review, we aimed to analyse the aphid behaviours and influencing factors affecting phytovirus spread. We discussed the impact of vector host-seeking and dispersal behaviours mostly involved in aphid-born phytovirus spread but also the effect of feeding behaviours and life history traits involved in plant–aphid–phytovirus relationships on vector performances. We also noted that these behaviours are influenced by factors inherent to the interactions between pathosystem components (mode of transmission of phytoviruses, vector efficiency, plant resistance, …) and several biological, biochemical, chemical or physical factors related to the environment of these pathosystem components, most of them being manipulated as means to control vector-borne diseases in the crop fields.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 855
Author(s):  
Mikołaj Kokociński ◽  
Dariusz Dziga ◽  
Adam Antosiak ◽  
Janne Soininen

Bacterioplankton community composition has become the center of research attention in recent years. Bacteria associated with toxic cyanobacteria blooms have attracted considerable interest. However, little is known about the environmental factors driving the bacteria community, including the impact of invasive cyanobacteria. Therefore, our aim has been to determine the relationships between heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton community composition across 24 Polish lakes with different contributions of cyanobacteria including the invasive species Raphidiopsis raciborskii. This analysis revealed that cyanobacteria were present in 16 lakes, while R. raciborskii occurred in 14 lakes. Our results show that bacteria communities differed between lakes dominated by cyanobacteria and lakes with minor contributions of cyanobacteria but did not differ between lakes with R. raciborskii and other lakes. Physical factors, including water and Secchi depth, were the major drivers of bacteria and phytoplankton community composition. However, in lakes dominated by cyanobacteria, bacterial community composition was also influenced by biotic factors such as the amount of R. raciborskii, chlorophyll-a and total phytoplankton biomass. Thus, our study provides novel evidence on the influence of environmental factors and R. raciborskii on lake bacteria communities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeno Balogh ◽  
Sandra Haynes ◽  
Aaron Brown

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the impact of three undergraduate research projects focusing on constructability assessment of adhesive-based wood-concrete composite structural members, on a solar heating technology that can be utilized in conjunction with this system and how these projects relate to engineering education and program development at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver). The sustainable structures topic was pursued within senior project classes offered in summer 2013 and 2014 at MSU Denver. The first project addressed new members, while the second dealt with retrofits. These projects were motivated by faculty research in developing new sustainable construction systems using composites. Since underlining faculty research is on an international scale, students had direct access to researchers world-wide. Such research was used as an instrument in the “Experimental Methods in Structural Engineering” course. The students were also exposed to a broader-range of diverse ideas within the field of research by attending an international conference on timber bridges. The solar furnace project was run in parallel, providing students an opportunity to conduct research targeted at design and performance optimization of the heating units with the intention to assess the benefits of incorporating these devices into future buildings using the sustainable structural system technology. Experiences gained through the undergraduate research activities were applied in the design of a proposed Sustainable Systems Engineering degree program.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1420-1439
Author(s):  
Albert R Kottke ◽  
Norman A Abrahamson ◽  
David M Boore ◽  
Yousef Bozorgnia ◽  
Christine A Goulet ◽  
...  

Traditional ground-motion models (GMMs) are used to compute pseudo-spectral acceleration (PSA) from future earthquakes and are generally developed by regression of PSA using a physics-based functional form. PSA is a relatively simple metric that correlates well with the response of several engineering systems and is a metric commonly used in engineering evaluations; however, characteristics of the PSA calculation make application of scaling factors dependent on the frequency content of the input motion, complicating the development and adaptability of GMMs. By comparison, Fourier amplitude spectrum (FAS) represents ground-motion amplitudes that are completely independent from the amplitudes at other frequencies, making them an attractive alternative for GMM development. Random vibration theory (RVT) predicts the peak response of motion in the time domain based on the FAS and a duration, and thus can be used to relate FAS to PSA. Using RVT to compute the expected peak response in the time domain for given FAS therefore presents a significant advantage that is gaining traction in the GMM field. This article provides recommended RVT procedures relevant to GMM development, which were developed for the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA)-East project. In addition, an orientation-independent FAS metric—called the effective amplitude spectrum (EAS)—is developed for use in conjunction with RVT to preserve the mean power of the corresponding two horizontal components considered in traditional PSA-based modeling (i.e., RotD50). The EAS uses a standardized smoothing approach to provide a practical representation of the FAS for ground-motion modeling, while minimizing the impact on the four RVT properties ( zeroth moment, [Formula: see text]; bandwidth parameter, [Formula: see text]; frequency of zero crossings, [Formula: see text]; and frequency of extrema, [Formula: see text]). Although the recommendations were originally developed for NGA-East, they and the methodology they are based on can be adapted to become portable to other GMM and engineering problems requiring the computation of PSA from FAS.


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