A Bouc-Wen type model for the hysteresis of degrading structural systems

In this thesis, a modified Bouc-Wen model to simulate the hysteretic behavior of degrading structural systems is developed. A damage index that involves both maximum displacement and dissipated energy is introduced. Moreover, the pinching effect is controlled through an activation energy. The proposed model is implemented in a MATLAB code and applied to the cyclic behavior of circular bridge piers, which were tested at the Fuzhou University (China). The identification of the optimal values of the model parameters is performed via a Genetic Algorithm. A comparison between the experimental and simulated results shows that the proposed model is capable of reproducing the hysteresis behavior of structural systems with damage.