At 7:58 on April 3, 2024, an M_S7.3 earthquake occurred (23.81°N, 121.74°E) in the waters of Hualien County, Taiwan, China, which was characterized as a thrust rupture. This earthquake is the largest earthquake since the “9·21” Chi-Chi earthquake. To comprehensively understand the characteristics and disaster effects of the earthquake and learn from the experience and lessons of the earthquake disaster, the cause of the earthquake is explained in combination with the mechanism of earthquake generation. Then, 714 strong ground motions recorded by 238 stations of the Earthquake Network Center of the Meteorological Bureau of Taiwan within 32 km of the fault are selected to analyze the engineering characteristics of these ground motions. Based on disaster investigation data, the relation between the earthquake and the structural damage of civil engineering as well as the distribution pattern of earthquake damage are discussed. The results show that ground motions of this earthquake have the characteristics of significant middle-to-high frequency contents with slow attenuation of PGA and Sa over rupture distance, causing the damage to medium-to-short period structures. The distribution of earthquake damage is concentrated in Hualien County, New Taipei City and Taipei City, and along the east side of the crustal butt belt of Taitung longitudinal Valley, the distribution is linear with the development of the fault zone. Hualien County is the most serious earthquake damage due to its proximity to the focal point, while New Taipei City and Taipei City are far away from the focal point, but the earthquake damage is also more serious due to the mountain amplification effect and basin amplification effect of ground motions. The relevant study can provide reference for the research of seismic fortification and seismic regionalization of medium-to-short period structures.

The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, triggered a massive tsunami that caused devastating destruction to buildings in coastal cities. However, in areas unaffected by the tsunami, buildings experienced relatively fewer collapses or severe damage, despite the high seismic intensity. This study explores the characteristics and impacts of seismic damage from this earthquake, reveals the intrinsic relationship between ground motion features and building damage, and analyzes the seismic damage data and spatial distribution of building clusters using a vulnerability model established based on the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake. Through the analysis of building collapse rate, we found that the computed results closely aligned with the actual seismic damage survey outcomes. The analysis indicates that seismic damage was concentrated in coastal areas such as Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki Prefectures, particularly in narrow inland zones near the coastline. Notably, the areas most severely affected were not always the closest to the epicenter or the zones with the highest intensity. Furthermore, significant differences in collapse rates were observed across different building codes, with buildings constructed under newer regulations showing a markedly lower collapse rate compared to those built under older standards. This research contributes to a better understanding of the seismic damage characteristics associated with offshore earthquakes, providing crucial insights for earthquake defense and disaster relief efforts.

Ground motion has significant uncertainty, and different ground motion response spectra under the same amplitude have significant differences, which have a significant impact on the estimation of seismic damage to regional buildings. This study developed a regional building seismic damage simulation program suitable for multiple-story masonry and concrete frame structures, which can conveniently and quickly simulate regional buildings seismic damage under set earthquakes, and performed regional building damage simulations and probabilistic analysis with motion uncertainties. A typical urban region in Chifeng city was selected as the research area: 30 ground motions were selected to consider their uncertainty, and the ground motions amplitudes were modulated to the set intensity (0.05 g, 0.10 g, 0.20 g, and 0.40 g). Then seismic damage simulation of regional buildings under single and multiple seismic inputs were conducted respectively, the impact of seismic uncertainty on the seismic damage results of regional buildings was analyzed. Based on the seismic damage results under the set intensities, a probability density distribution model of regional buildings damage index based on Beta distribution was established. Results indicate that multiple seismic inputs take into account the uncertainty of seismic motion, which can more scientifically and objectively reflect the seismic damage situation of regional buildings; The established Beta distribution model can be used to estimate the post-earthquake damage of buildings in similar areas. The research results can provide reference for regional buildings safety assessment and seismic fortification.

Mountain terrain of significantly alters the propagation path and energy distribution characteristics of seismic waves. Through interactions such as reflection, scattering, and diffraction, the seismic response of local sites exhibits notable spatial variability. This terrain effect has a significant impact on the seismic response of engineering structures in mountainous areas and is one of the key factors contributing to the intensification of earthquake damage. To consider the impact of terrain effects on ground motion parameters in engineering seismic design, this study uses a railway station building site as the example. A three-dimensional finite element model of the mountain area where the station building is located was established. A viscoelastic artificial boundary is set for the model, and historical seismic data recorded by observation stations in the region were used as the ground motion input. The seismic response of the mountain region was obtained, and a comparative analysis of the input seismic motion and response results was performed to analyze the impact of the mountain height difference on the terrain amplification effect. The results show that at higher elevations (such as the freight yard and station building locations), the amplification effect is significant, while at lower elevations, the amplification effect is weaker, displaying a characteristic distribution along the height difference from large to small. The highest elevation of the site is more sensitive to high-frequency (10~20 Hz) seismic motion components. The peak ground acceleration is significantly positively correlated with the height difference, indicating that the height difference of the mountain terrain is a key factor influencing the site amplification effect. The study concludes that the terrain amplification effect is closely related to the height difference and topographical variations in mountainous areas, providing important theoretical guidance for the seismic design of major engineering projects in mountainous regions.

Seismic resistance qualification is mandatory for telecommunication equipment prior to network deployment. While sinusoidal resonance beat waves (SRBWs) serve as optional excitations in seismic testing, practical applications have revealed operational limitations. This study comparatively investigated the seismic responses of typical telecommunication cabinets through shaking table tests using both SRBWs and artificial ground motions (AGMs). A comprehensive analysis of damage patterns, natural frequencies, deformations, and acceleration responses demonstrated SRBWs’ superior efficacy in exciting seismic reactions for equipment with natural frequencies exceeding 3 Hz. The findings substantiate the necessity of employing SRBW excitations for such equipment and the critical infrastructure categorized as “essential” or “important”. Furthermore, critical examination of the current Specifications for Seismic Test of Telecommunication Equipment (YD 5083—2005) reveals technical inconsistencies in SRBW implementation, prompting proposed revisions to enhance testing protocol reliability.

To systematically study the influence of near-fault pulse characteristics on the seismic response of skew bridges, a four-span highway skew continuous girder bridge was taken and finite element models of the skew bridges with different skew angles were established by using OpenSees. The near-fault pulse-like ground motions with high-frequency components were artificially synthesized by using the decomposition-incorporation method. The effects of the moment magnitude and fault distance to the piers, main girders, beam-abutment collisions and exterior shear keys of skew bridges are analyzed. The results show that the sensitivity of the top displacement of the middle pier to the moment magnitude is greater than that of the side piers, but the sensitivity to the fault distance is not much different. The increase of the moment magnitude increases the displacement and rotation ratio of the main girder, as well as the maximum pounding force between the girder and the abutment. The results of increasing the fault distance are opposite to the previous results and the rotation ratio of the girder varies most when the skew angles is 15°. It is suggested to strengthen the shear reinforcement of the exterior shear keys for skew bridges with skew angles greater than 15°. As the moment magnitude is greater than 6.0 or the fault distance is 2~7 km, the exterior shear keys are in a state of failure under the near-fault ground motion.

The laminated rubber bearings of in-service bridges are prone to aging, which leads to the time-varying mechanical properties of the rubber bearings, resulting in changes in the structural response under earthquakes action. To explore the time-varying laws of the mechanical properties of in-service laminated rubber bearings, this paper employed the accelerated thermal aging method to age eight laminated rubber bearings for different times. The variation laws of the horizontal force-displacement hysteresis curves, horizontal shear stiffness, and friction coefficients of laminated rubber bearings under different aging times under compression-shear action are discussed. The finite element model of a three-span prestressed concrete diagonal continuous beam bridge is established, and the influence of the stiffness and friction coefficient of the aging laminated rubber bearings on the seismic response of the upper and lower structures of the bridge under different seismic intensities was analyzed. The results show that aging has a significant impact on the mechanical properties of laminated rubber bearings, causing the horizontal force-displacement hysteresis loops of the bearings to become larger. Moreover, with the increase in aging time, the horizontal shear stiffness and friction coefficient of the bearings increase. The time-varying nature of the mechanical properties of aged laminated rubber bearings can reduce the rotational displacement of the superstructure girder of the skew bridge, but it leads to an increase in the seismic forces of the substructure and increases the risk of damage to the substructure. Therefore, the aging of laminated rubber bearings cannot be ignored, and the aging degree of laminated rubber bearings needs to be quantified when evaluating the seismic performance of in-service bridges.

Corner concrete damage and failure in shear wall structures under seismic loading is one of the primary factors leading to degradation of overall structural performance. This study focuses on steel-concrete modular prefabricated composite shear walls, proposing four optimized corner design schemes: curved steel thick-plate (CSTP) design, stiffened CSTP design, folded steel thick-plate (FSTP) design, and stiffened FSTP design. The seismic performance of these optimized designs was compared with that of non-optimized composite shear walls, followed by an investigation into the parameter influence patterns of the optimal design. Results demonstrate that all four corner optimization schemes enhance the seismic performance of modular prefabricated composite shear wall specimens, with the stiffened FSTP design showing the most significant improvement. This optimal design substantially improves the collaborative working capacity of the structure, increasing initial stiffness, peak bearing capacity, cumulative hysteretic energy dissipation, and ultimate drift angle by 40%, 43%, 44.7%, and 23.58%, respectively, compared to the non-optimized scheme. Optimal parameter ranges for the stiffened FSTP design are provided, offering references for practical engineering applications.