Seismic vulnerability assessment of a historical building in Tunisia

El-Borgi, S.,Choura, S.,Neifar, M.,Smaoui, H.,Majdoub, M.S.,Cherif, D. Techno-Press 2008 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.4 No.2

A methodology for the seismic vulnerability assessment of historical monuments is presented in this paper. The ongoing work has been conducted in Tunisia within the framework of the FP6 European Union project (WIND-CHIME) on the use of appropriate modern seismic protective systems in the conservation of Mediterranean historical buildings in earthquake-prone areas. The case study is the five-century-old Zaouia of Sidi Kassem Djilizi, located downtown Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Ambient vibration tests were conducted on the case study using a number of force-balance accelerometers placed at selected locations. The Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD) technique was applied to extract the dynamic characteristics of the monument. A 3-D finite element model was developed and updated to obtain reasonable correlation between experimental and numerical modal properties. The set of parameters selected for the updating consists of the modulus of elasticity in each wall element of the finite element model. Seismic vulnerability assessment of the case study was carried out via three-dimensional time-history dynamic analyses of the structure. Dynamic stresses were computed and damage was evaluated according to a masonry specific plane failure criterion. Statistics on the occurrence, location and type of failure provide a general view for the probable damage level and mode. Results indicate a high vulnerability that confirms the need for intervention and retrofit.

Use of copper shape memory alloys in retrofitting historical monuments

S. El-Borgi,M. Neifar,M. Ben Jabeur,D. Cherif,H. Smaoui 국제구조공학회 2008 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.4 No.2

The potential use of Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMA) in retrofitting historical monuments is investigated in this paper. This study is part of the ongoing work conducted in Tunisia within the framework of the FP6 European Union project (WIND-CHIME) on the use of appropriate modern seismic protective systems in the conservation of Mediterranean historical buildings in earthquake-prone areas. The present investigation consists of a finite element simulation, as a preliminary to an experimental study where a cantilever masonry wall, representing a part of a historical monument, is subjected to monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings around a horizontal axis at the base level. The wall was retrofitted with an array of copper SMA wires with different crosssectional areas. A new model is proposed for heat-treated copper SMAs and is validated based on published experimental results. A series of nonlinear finite element analyses are then performed on the wall for the purpose of assessing the SMA device retrofitting capabilities. Simulation results show an improvement of the wall response for the case of monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings.

Seismic vulnerability assessment of a historical building in Tunisia

S. El-Borgi,S. Choura,M. Neifar,H. Smaoui,M.S. Majdoub,D. Cherif 국제구조공학회 2008 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.4 No.2

A methodology for the seismic vulnerability assessment of historical monuments is presented in this paper. The ongoing work has been conducted in Tunisia within the framework of the FP6 European Union project (WIND-CHIME) on the use of appropriate modern seismic protective systems in the conservation of Mediterranean historical buildings in earthquake-prone areas. The case study is the five-century-old Zaouia of Sidi Kassem Djilizi, located downtown Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Ambient vibration tests were conducted on the case study using a number of force-balance accelerometers placed at selected locations. The Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD) technique was applied to extract the dynamic characteristics of the monument. A 3-D finite element model was developed and updated to obtain reasonable correlation between experimental and numerical modal properties. The set of parameters selected for the updating consists of the modulus of elasticity in each wall element of the finite element model. Seismic vulnerability assessment of the case study was carried out via three-dimensional time-history dynamic analyses of the structure. Dynamic stresses were computed and damage was evaluated according to a masonry specific plane failure criterion. Statistics on the occurrence, location and type of failure provide a general view for the probable damage level and mode. Results indicate a high vulnerability that confirms the need for intervention and retrofit.

Use of copper shape memory alloys in retrofitting historical monuments

El-Borgi, S.,Neifar, M.,Jabeur, M. Ben,Cherif, D.,Smaoui, H. Techno-Press 2008 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.4 No.2

The potential use of Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMA) in retrofitting historical monuments is investigated in this paper. This study is part of the ongoing work conducted in Tunisia within the framework of the FP6 European Union project (WIND-CHIME) on the use of appropriate modern seismic protective systems in the conservation of Mediterranean historical buildings in earthquake-prone areas. The present investigation consists of a finite element simulation, as a preliminary to an experimental study where a cantilever masonry wall, representing a part of a historical monument, is subjected to monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings around a horizontal axis at the base level. The wall was retrofitted with an array of copper SMA wires with different cross-sectional areas. A new model is proposed for heat-treated copper SMAs and is validated based on published experimental results. A series of nonlinear finite element analyses are then performed on the wall for the purpose of assessing the SMA device retrofitting capabilities. Simulation results show an improvement of the wall response for the case of monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings.

Modal identification and model updating of a reinforced concrete bridge

El-Borgi, S.,Choura, S.,Ventura, C.,Baccouch, M.,Cherif, F. Techno-Press 2005 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.1 No.1

This paper summarizes the application of a rational methodology for the structural assessment of older reinforced concrete Tunisian bridges. This methodology is based on ambient vibration measurement of the bridge, identification of the structure's modal signature and finite element model updating. The selected case study is the Boujnah bridge of the Tunis-Msaken Highway. This bridge is made of a continuous four-span simply supported reinforced concrete slab without girders resting on elastomeric bearings at each support. Ambient vibration tests were conducted on the bridge using a data acquisition system with nine force-balance accelerometers placed at selected locations of the bridge. The Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition technique was applied to extract the dynamic characteristics of the bridge. The finite element model was updated in order to obtain a reasonable correlation between experimental and numerical modal properties. For the model updating part of the study, the parameters selected for the updating process include the concrete modulus of elasticity, the elastic bearing stiffness and the foundation spring stiffnesses. The primary objective of the paper is to demonstrate the use of the Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition technique combined with model updating to provide data that could be used to assess the structural condition of the selected bridge. The application of the proposed methodology led to a relatively faithful linear elastic model of the bridge in its present condition.

On the control of vibratory MEMS gyroscopes

S. Choura,N. Aouni,S. El-Borgi 국제구조공학회 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.7

This paper addresses the control issue of vibratory MEMS-based gyroscopes. This study considers a gyroscope that can be modeled by an inner mass attached to an outer mass by four springs and four dampers. The outer mass itself is attached to the rotating frame by an equal number of springs and dampers. In order to measure the angular rate of the rotating frame, a driving force is applied to the inner mass and the Coriolis force is sensed along the y-direction associated with the outer mass. Due to micro-fabrication imperfections, including anisoelasticity and damping effects, both gyroscopes do not allow accurate measurements, and therefore, it becomes necessary to devise feedback controllers to reduce the effects of such imperfections. Given an ideal gyroscope that meets certain performance specifications, a feedback control strategy is synthesized to reduce the error dynamics between the actual and ideal gyroscopes. For a dual-mass gyroscope, it is demonstrated that the error dynamics are remarkably decreased with the application of four actuators applied to both masses in the x and y directions. It is also shown that it is possible to reduce the error dynamics with only two actuators applied to the outer mass only. Simulation results are presented to prove the efficiency of the proposed control design.

On the control of vibratory MEMS gyroscopes

Choura, S.,Aouni, N.,El-Borgi, S. Techno-Press 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.7

This paper addresses the control issue of vibratory MEMS-based gyroscopes. This study considers a gyroscope that can be modeled by an inner mass attached to an outer mass by four springs and four dampers. The outer mass itself is attached to the rotating frame by an equal number of springs and dampers. In order to measure the angular rate of the rotating frame, a driving force is applied to the inner mass and the Coriolis force is sensed along the y-direction associated with the outer mass. Due to micro-fabrication imperfections, including anisoelasticity and damping effects, both gyroscopes do not allow accurate measurements, and therefore, it becomes necessary to devise feedback controllers to reduce the effects of such imperfections. Given an ideal gyroscope that meets certain performance specifications, a feedback control strategy is synthesized to reduce the error dynamics between the actual and ideal gyroscopes. For a dual-mass gyroscope, it is demonstrated that the error dynamics are remarkably decreased with the application of four actuators applied to both masses in the x and y directions. It is also shown that it is possible to reduce the error dynamics with only two actuators applied to the outer mass only. Simulation results are presented to prove the efficiency of the proposed control design.