Nonlinear analysis tools for rapid assessment of structural resilience

2011年，基督城、新西兰和日本发生的大地震和自然灾害表明，现有的建筑结构还没有足够的弹性来抵御极端事件。从这两次灾难中，特别是从新西兰的灾难中学到的一件事是，在重大事件发生后，对于哪些钢筋和预应力混凝土结构可以立即恢复使用，哪些应该暂时关闭，哪些应该永久关闭和拆除，存在很大的混乱。为什么这是至关重要的是，额外的事件，如余震，将发生在最初的事件，并可能导致受损的建筑物倒塌。在该项目中，建议开发一种分析工具，允许在极端事件发生后快速评估结构的安全性。要做到这一点，分析需要有一个精心减少的方程的数量来解决现有的方法，虽然通常是准确的，需要太长的时间来执行所需的事后计算。最新的进展允许这种类型的效率被资本化的第一次结构分析和设计。除了允许快速诊断结构问题外，该工具还允许设计工程师进行基于性能的设计。这意味着可以对更创新的结构系统进行数值试验，以确定新设计和新材料（如FRP）将如何影响整体结构。该项目将雇用6名学生在5年内开发该系统，然后使用它来进一步了解结构行为。这将使雇用他们并使用新工具的加拿大工程公司能够更好地在全球工程市场上竞争。

In 2011, large earthquakes and natural disasters in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Japan demonstrated that existing structures are not yet sufficiently resilient to survive extreme events. One thing that was learned from both disasters but particularly from the New Zealand one is that immediately after a major event, there is significant confusion about which reinforced and prestressed concrete structures can be immediately returned to service, which should be temporarily closed and which should be permanently closed and demolished. Why this is of critical importance is that additional events, such as aftershocks, will occur after the initial event and can cause damaged buildings to collapse. In this project it is proposed develop an analysis tool that will allow rapid assessment of the safety of structures after an extreme event has occurred. To do this, the analysis needs to have a carefully reduced number of equations to solve as existing methods, while generally accurate, take too long to perform for after-the-event calculations that are desired. Recent advances allow this type of efficiency to be capitalized on for the first time for structural analysis and design. In addition to allowing rapid diagnosis of structural problems, the same tool will allow design engineers to engage in performance based design. This means that more innovative structural systems can be numerically experimented with to determine how newer designs and newer materials, such as FRP, will affect the overall structure. This project will employ six students over 5 years to develop the system and then use it to further their knowledge of structural behaviour. This will make the Canadian engineering firms that employ them, and which use the new tools, better able to compete in the global engineering market.