Seismic optimum design of triple friction pendulum bearing subjected to near-fault pulse-like ground motions

Triple Friction Pendulum Bearing (TFPB) as a novel seismic isolator, provides different combinations of stiffness and damping during its course of motion. The adaptive behavior of TFPBs is one of the practical solutions for unsuitable performance of seismic isolation systems under near-fault ground motions. Selecting the TFPB’s design variables (curvature radii, friction coefficients and displacement capacity of sliding surfaces) is complicated process while finding the optimized combination of these variables depends on input ground motion characteristics and seismic performance objectives of the superstructure. Here first, comprehensive nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed to identify influence of the design variables on superstructure response (roof acceleration and displacement of isolated level). Next, a specific numerical optimization method based on Genetic Algorithms (GA) is applied to determine the optimum values of the design variables that minimize superstructure demands. In this process, near-fault ground motions are employed with ranges of pulse periods and hazard levels as input excitations. According to GA results, the derived optimum design variables of TFPB have significantly distinct intervals for different target responses such as story drift and TFPB displacement. Therefore response targets (single objective functions) are combined to make a new fitness function. The proposed optimization method for determining design variables and design intervals can be used for investigating many other types of superstructures with similar behaviors.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al2O3–20 wt%Al2TiO5 composite prepared from alumina and titania nanopowders

In the present work, Al₂O₃–20 wt%Al₂TiO₅ composite was prepared from reaction sintering of alumina and titania nanopowders. The nano-sized raw powders were reconstituted into nanostructured particles by ball milling. Then, the nanostructured reconstituted powders were pressed and pressureless-sintered into bulk ceramics at 1300, 1400, 1500 °C for 2 h. The phase composition and microstructures of reconstituted powders and as-prepared ceramic composites were characterized by using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope and energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The microstructural analysis of the ceramic showed that the average grain size of the alumina–aluminium titanate composite increases with increasing the temperature. Also, SEM proved the existence of a proper interface between Al₂TiO₅ and Al₂O₃ grains and preferential distribution of aluminium titanate particles in the grain boundaries. XRD analysis indicated the absence of rutile titania in the sintered composite ensuring complete formation of aluminium titanate. The hardness of the samples sintered at 1300, 1400, 1500 °C were 4.8, 6.2 and 8.5 GPa, respectively.     

Effects of 211 and 413 ordering on the corrosion behavior of V-Al-C MAX phases prepared by spark plasma sintering

In the present study, two V-Al-C based MAX phases, i.e., V₂AlC and V₄AlC₃ having two types of ordering were successfully manufactured by spark plasma sintering and the corrosion behavior of sintered samples was evaluated. Al, V and C metal powders were mixed with the desired molar ratios by a mixer mill, and sintered at 1300 °C. The relative density calculation revealed almost full densification for both prepared MAX phases. The measurements of mechanical properties showed a low increase in bending strength and Vickers hardness of V₄AlC₃ compared to V₂AlC MAX phase. Evaluation of corrosion behavior of developed MAX phases was carried out in 6.5 M HCl solution using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests. Corrosion current density and corrosion potential of V₂AlC (5.3 ± 0.21 μA/cm² and -0.451 ± 0.01 V, respectively), and V₄AlC₃ (1.07 ± 0.22 μA/cm² and -0.091 ± 0.02 V, respectively) were measured and no passivation behavior was observed in their potentiodynamic polarization curves. However, EIS tests at open circuit potential confirmed more corrosion resistance of V₄AlC₃compared to V₂AlC. These tests also revealed the active dissolution of MAX phases in 6.5 M HCl solution at anodic potential of +0.1 V, while the impedance values of V₄AlC₃ were larger than those of V₂AlC. Microstructural investigation revealed the preferential dissolution of V₂AlC phase in grain boundaries after corrosion test. Moreover, the layered structure of V₂C MXenes was observed in some regions. After corrosion test, V₄C₃ MXene layers had larger thickness compared to V₂AlC. It was found that V₄AlC₃ with higher amount of Al₂O₃ and thicker layers has more corrosion resistance than V₂AlC MAX phase.     

Taguchi design for optimization of structural and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite-alumina-titanium nanocomposite

The Taguchi methodology was utilized to determine the influence of three factors, namely nanostructured alumina (A) and micro-structured titanium (B) weight percents and sintering temperature (C) on the phase stability, mechanical and structural properties of hydroxyapatite (HA) composites. HA nanosized powder was synthesized via wet precipitation method. According to L9 orthogonal array, different combinations of powder mixtures were cold isostatically pressed and pressure-less sintered in a reducing atmosphere. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of HA phase and metallic Ti after sintering. Analyze of Variance (ANOVA) method was used to specify the percentage contributions of three factors. Addition of 5–10?wt% titanium contributed to increasing the decomposition of HA and the amount of open porosity by 43.07% and 55.40%, respectively and caused a decrease in the strength by 44.67%. Alumina nanoparticles consistently inhibited the grain growth but showed a negligible effect on the decomposition of HA. It also caused enhancements in the strength and toughness by 14.61 and 23.70% contributions. According to ANOVA, sintering temperature illustrated considerable effects on the properties of HA composites. It exhibited more than 56% contribution to the grain growth and decomposition of HA. Structural investigations led to a total optimum condition with a combination of 7?wt % alumina/3?wt % titanium/1150?°C.     

Porous mullite–ZrO2 composites from reaction sintering of zircon and aluminum

Mullite–zirconia porous bodies were prepared by reaction sintering of zircon and alumina derived from oxidation reaction of Al at sintering temperatures between 1200 and 1600 °C. The results show that the incorporation of TiO₂ improves the oxidation reaction of Al, dissociation of zircon subsequently formation of mullite and zirconia. Composites containing TiO₂ obtain a high tetragonal concentration at 1500 °C, which reduces by increasing sintering temperature to 1600 °C. No tetragonal zirconia phase was detected at 1500 °C in TiO₂-free composites while tetragonal concentration was increased over this temperature. The major oxidation reaction of Al proceeds with a liquid–gas mechanism that is suitable for producing low dense ceramics. In spite of the higher porosity of the composites containing TiO₂, they possess almost the same flexural strength values as obtained from the TiO₂-free composites.     

Immune based fuzzy agent plays checkers game

One of the advantages of immune based approaches is the usage of permanent memory cells. These memory cells cause to omit the process of learning for any played strategy and consequently increasing the speed of decision making process. In the proposed method of this article, memory cells represent actions that have the best local payoff for that current state of the game and are generated simultaneously by learning process. These cells help the decision making system to decide better, considering the previous and future state of the game. The decision making system that is used in this method is based on a Mamdani fuzzy inference engine (FIS). The FIS proposes a best action for the current state of the board by extracting memory cells’ data. Experiments show that the immune based fuzzy agent which is introduced here has better results among other previous methods. This new method can show proper resistance when confronting a player that uses complete game tree remarkably. Also this method is capable of suggesting an action for each state of the game by generating less number of generations in comparison with other evolutionary based methods.     

Phase Evolution,Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of Alumina–Mullite–Zirconia Composites Prepared by Iranian Andalusite

This paper investigates the effects of Iranian andalusite and short milling times on alumina–mullite–zirconia composites. Andalusite powder was added at 0, 2.5, 5, and 10 wt% to an alumina–zircon mixture and the raw materials were milled for 1 or 3 h. The sintering of samples was carried out at the temperatures of 1550°C, 1600°C, and 1650°C for 3 h. Microstructural changes, phase composition, physical properties, and mechanical strength of the sintered composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, density, and strength measurement tests. Results show that andalusite promoted the decomposition of zircon and accelerated the reaction sintering of alumina–zircon, which leads to the formation of much more mullite phase and improvements to the composites’ thermal shock resistance up to about 50%.     

Online self‐tuning mechanism for direct adaptive control of tall building

The simple adaptive control (SAC) method is known as a remarkable solution to reduce the negative influence of different uncertainties on active control of building structures during an earthquake. The design parameters of this direct adaptive control algorithm are determined after a large number of sensitivity analyses. Furthermore, the selected parameters will not necessarily lead a controller to the optimum performance of the structure. Herein, an innovative online self‐tuning method is firstly introduced to improve the SAC method and cancel out excessive sensitivity analysis. Accordingly, a fuzzy inference system is designed to select the appropriate SAC method, adjusting parameters online instead of using fixed parameters. To show the efficiency of the introduced method, a 20‐story steel building structure equipped with magnetorheological dampers in each story is considered as a benchmark control. The performance of the designed control system is evaluated in different condition of base excitation with and without uncertainty in the model of the proposed structure. The results from the numerical simulations show that the introduced method has better performance than the SAC method with fixed adjusting parameters. The predominance of the method becomes clearer when an input ground motion to the control system has completely different characteristics than the initial designed seismic excitation.     

A sharp-selective micro strip triplexer with hairpin resonators for long-term evolution (LTE)

A compact size planar micro strip triplexer for long-term evolution (LTE) is presented. The triplexer consists of three hairpin band pass filters and a T-shaped micro strip line. T-shaped microstrip line has been used as input signal splitting structure and hairpin filters bring sharp selectivity. Input impedance matching of the structure carried out with three metalized vias in the middle of the filters. The central pass band frequencies (0.9, 1.17, and 1.5 GHz) are selected according to LTE frequency bands. The pass band of the filters include 0.88 to 0.91, 1.16 to 1.21, and 1.47 to 1.53 GHz. Isolation among the output channels are better than 40 dB. The measurement results verify the design process satisfactorily. The proposed triplexer can be used in BTS antenna for enabling more than one transmitter on a single antenna.     

MgAl2O4 nanopowder synthesis by microwave assisted high energy ball-milling

This paper reports the development of a new process for the synthesis of spinel nano powder via microwave assisted high energy ball milling of a powder mixture containing Al(OH)₃ and Mg(OH)₂. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), FTIR spectrometer, BET and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were utilized to characterize the as-milled and annealed samples. X-ray diffraction results provide evidence for the formation of a completely amorphous phase after milling for 8 h. It is found that highly ordered MgAl₂O₄ spinel can be obtained by calcination the as-milled powder over 800 °C. Also, SEM observations of synthesized powders showed that the particle size of powders lies in the nano meter range compared with the BET results (about 28–149 nm). The DTA–TG analyses were carried out to investigate the effect of microwave heating on the synthesis temperature compared to the conventional heat treatment by conventional furnace. Synthesis of powders with different heating methods showed that microwave heating reduces the synthesis temperature by about 200 °C.