• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.09a
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• pp.993-1000
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• 2009

In general, a drilled shaft embedded in weathered rock has a large load bearing capacity. Therefore, most of the load tests are performed only up to the load level that confirms the pile design load capacity, and stopped much before the failure load of the pile is attained. If a reliable failure load value can be extracted from the premature load test data, it will be possible to greatly improve economic efficiency as well as pile design quality. The main purpose of this study is to propose a standard for judging the reliability of the failure load of piles that is obtained from extrapolated load test data. To this aim, eleven static load test data of load-displacement curves were obtained from testing of piles to their failures from 3 different field sites. For each load-displacement curve, loading was assumed as 25%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% of the actual pile bearing capacity. The limited known data were then extrapolated using the hyperbolic function, and the failure load was re-determined for each extrapolated data by the ASCE 20-96 method (1997). Statistical analysis was performed on the reliability of the re-evaluated failure loads. The results showed that if the ratio of the maximum-available displacement to the failure-load displacement exceeds 0.6, the extrapolated failure load may be regarded as reliable, having less than a conservative 20% error on average. The applicability of the proposed standard of judgment was also verified with static load test data of driven piles.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.534-539
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• 2006

The supply of oxygen for aeration is the largest energy consumer at activated sludge wastewater treatment plants. Replacement of less efficient aeration systems with fine pore aeration devices can save up to 50 percent of aeration energy costs. The purpose of this study was the diagnosis and evaluation of a domestic wastewater aeration system by the off-gas method which had been studied by US EPA and ASCE. For this study, an off-gas analyzer and its hood were made to collect off-gas. Also, a vacuum pump was connected to the analyzer to make suction of off-gas. Experiments were conducted at a domestic activated sludge wastewater treatment plant which had a single spiral roll aeration system installed with P.E tube diffuser. Data on OTE(f), SOTE(pw), OUR, and air flow rate were obtained from these experiments. In case of replacing an aeration system, it is recommended that it should be replaced with perforated membrane disc or ceramic disc fine bubble diffusers installed in a full floor coverage or grid pattern.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.339-359
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• 2019

Pre-stressed concrete poles are among the supporting systems used to support transmission lines. It is essential to protect transmission line systems from harsh environmental attacks such as downburst wind events. Typically, these poles are designed to resist synoptic wind loading as current codes do not address high wind events in the form of downbursts. In the current study, the behavior of guyed pre-stressed concrete Transmission lines is studied under downburst loads. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first investigation to assess the behaviour of guyed pre-stressed concrete poles under downburst events. Due to the localized nature of those events, identifying the critical locations and parameters leading to peak forces on the poles is a challenging task. To overcome this challenge, an in-house built numerical model is developed incorporating the following: (1) a three-dimensional downburst wind field previously developed and validated using computational fluid dynamics simulations; (2) a computationally efficient analytical technique previously developed and validated to predict the non-linear behaviour of the conductors including the effects of the pretension force, sagging, insulator's stiffness and the non-uniform distribution of wind loads, and (3) a non-linear finite element model utilized to simulate the structural behaviour of the guyed pre-stressed concrete pole considering material nonlinearity. A parametric study is conducted by varying the downbursts locations relative to the guyed pole while considering three different span values. The results of this parametric study are utilized to identify critical downburst configurations leading to peak straining actions on the pole and the guys. This is followed by comparing the obtained critical load cases to new load cases proposed to ASCE-74 loading committee. A non-linear failure analysis is then conducted for the three considered guyed pre-stressed concrete transmission line systems to determine the downburst jet velocity at which the pole systems fail.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.295-310
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• 2019

This study attempts to develop new simplified approximate formulas to predict the fundamental natural periods of vibration (T) for bearing wall systems engaged with special reinforced concrete shear walls (RCSW) under seismic loads. Commonly, seismic codes suggested empirical formulas established by regression analysis of measured T for buildings during earthquake motions. These formulas depend on structure type, building height, number, height and length of SW, and ratio of SW area to base area of structure. In this study, a parametric investigation is performed for T of 110 selected models of bearing RCSW systems with varying structural height, configuration of horizontal plans including building width, number and width of bays, presence of middle corridors and core SWs. For this purpose, a 3D non-linear response time history (TH) analysis is implemented using ETABS v16.2.1. New formulas to estimate T are anticipated and compared with those obtained from formulas of IBC 2012 and ASCE/SEI 7-10. Moreover, the study examines responses of an arbitrarily two selected test model of 60 m and 80 m in height with presence of SWs having middle corridors. It is observed that the performance of the tested buildings is different through arising of considerable errors when using codes' formulas for estimating T. Accordingly, using the present proposed formulas exhibits more reasonable and safer design compared to codes' formulas. The results showed that equitable enhancement is promising to improve T formulas approaching enhanced and accurate estimation of T with reliable analysis, design, and evaluation of bearing RCSW systems.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.351-368
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• 2021

This paper, by applying a reliability-based framework, develops seismic vulnerability macrozonation maps for Tehran, the capital and one of the most earthquake-vulnerable city of Iran. Seismic performance assessment of 3-, 4- and 5-story steel moment resisting frames (SMRFs), designed according to ASCE/SEI 41-17 and Iranian Code of Practice for Seismic Resistant Design of Buildings (2800 Standard), is investigated in terms of overall maximum inter-story drift ratio (MIDR) and unit repair cost ratio which is hereafter known as "damage ratio". To this end, Tehran city is first meshed into a network of 66 points to numerically locate low- to mid-rise SMRFs. Active faults around Tehran are next modeled explicitly. Two different combination of faults, based on available seismological data, are then developed to explore the impact of choosing a proper seismic scenario. In addition, soil effect is exclusively addressed. After building analytical models, reliability methods in combination with structure-specific probabilistic models are applied to predict demand and damage ratio of structures in a cost-effective paradigm. Due to capability of proposed methodology incorporating both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties explicitly, this framework which is centered on the regional demand and damage ratio estimation via structure-specific characteristics can efficiently pave the way for decision makers to find the most vulnerable area in a regional scale. This technical basis can also be adapted to any other structures which the demand and/or damage ratio prediction models are developed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2022

Gust factor is an important parameter for the conversion between peak gust wind and mean wind speed used for the structural design and wind-related hazard mitigation. The gust factor of typhoon wind is observed to show a significant dispersion and some differences with large-scale weather systems, e.g., monsoons and extratropical cyclones. In this study, insitu measurement data captured by 13 meteorological towers during a strong typhoon Morakot are collected to investigate the statistical characteristics, height and wind speed dependency of the gust factor. Onshore off-sea and off-land winds are comparatively studied, respectively to characterize the underlying terrain effects on the gust factor. The theoretical method of peak factor based on Gaussian assumption is then introduced to compare the gust factor profiles observed in this study and given in some building codes and standards. The results show that the probability distributions of gust factor for both off-sea winds and off-land winds can be well described using the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution model. Compared with the off-land winds, the off-sea gust factors are relatively smaller, and the probability distribution is more leptokurtic with longer tails. With the increase of height, especially for off-sea winds, the probability distributions of gust factor are more peaked and right-tailed. The scatters of gust factor decrease with the mean wind speed and height. AS/NZ's suggestions are nearly parallel with the measured gust factor profiles below 80m, while the fitting curve of off-sea data below 120m is more similar to AIJ, ASCE and EU.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.215-230
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• 2022

Majority of transmission line system failures at many locations worldwide have been caused by severe localized wind events in the form of tornadoes and downbursts. This study evaluates the structural response of two different transmission line systems under equivalent F2 tornadoes obtained from real incidents. Two multi-span self-supported transmission line systems are considered in the study. Nonlinear three-dimensional finite element models are developed for both systems. The finite element models simulate six spans and five towers. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are used to develop the tornado wind fields. Using a proper scaling method for geometry and velocity, full-scale tornado flow fields for the Stockton, KS, 2005 and Goshen County WY, 2009 are developed and considered together with a previously developed tornado wind field. The tornado wind profiles are obtained in terms of tangential, radial, and axial velocities. The simulated tornadoes are then normalized to the maximum velocity value for F2 tornadoes in order to compare the effect of different tornadoes having an equal magnitude. The tornado wind fields are incorporated into a three-dimensional finite element model. By varying the location of the tornado relative to the transmission line systems, base shears of the tower of interest and peak internal forces in the tower members are evaluated. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the variation of the structural behaviour of the studied transmission lines associated with the location of the tornado relative to the tower of interest. The tornado-induced forces in both lines due to the three different normalized tornadoes are compared with corresponding values evaluated using the simplified load case method recently incorporated in the ASCE-74 (2020) guidelines, which was previously developed based on the research conducted at Western University.

• Architectural research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Structural ageing influences the structural performance in a negative way by reducing the seismic resilience of the structure which makes it a major concern around the world. Retrofitting is considered to be a pragmatic and feasible solution to address this issue. Numerous retrofitting techniques are devised by researchers over the years. The viability of using steel bracings as retrofitting component is evaluated on a G+30 storied building model designed according to ACI318-14 and ASCE 7-16. Four different types of steel bracing arrangements (V, Inverted V/ Chevron, Cross/ X, Diagonal) are assessed in the model developed in commercial nu-merical analysis software while considering both material and geometric nonlinearities. Reducing displacement and cost in the structures indicates that the design is safe and economical. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to find the best bracing system that causes minimum displacement, which indicates maximum lateral stiffness. To evaluate the seismic vulnerability of each system, incremental dynamic analysis was conducted to develop fragility curves, followed by the formation of collapse margin ratio (CMR) as stipulated in FEMA P695 and finally, a cost estimation was made for each system. The outcomes revealed that the effects of ge-ometric nonlinearity tend to evoke hazardous consequences if not considered in the structural design. Probabilistic seismic and economic probes indicated the superior performance of V braced frame system and its competency to be a germane technique for retrofitting.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.129-137
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• 2023

This study presents a dry precast concrete (PC) beam-column connection, and its target seismic performance level is set to be emulative to the reinforced concrete (RC) intermediate moment resisting frame system specified in ACI 318 and ASCE 7. The key features include self-sustaining ability during construction with the dry mechanical splicing method, enabling emulative connection performances and better constructability. Test specimens with code-compliant seismic details were fabricated and tested under reversed cyclic loading, which included a PC beam-column connection specimen with dry connections and an RC control specimen. The test results showed that all the specimens failed in a similar failure mode due to plastic deformations in beam members, while the hysteretic response curve of the PC specimen showed comparable and emulative performances compared to the RC specimen. Seismic performance evaluation was quantitatively addressed, and on this basis, it confirmed that the presented system can fully satisfy all the required performance for the intermediate RC moment resisting frame.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.142-148
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• 2017

Along with economic growth in the 1970s, the nation's economy, railroads, and airports have soared, but the facilities have been aging for 30 years. The aging SOC lowers the national competitiveness and threatens the safety of the people. SOC is a key asset of the national life and economic activity, and is a key factor for evaluating the national competitiveness. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically manage and operate the SOC related to people's lives. In the USA, the SOC report card is issued regularly. Those reports are used as a basis for securing budgets. In Korea, facilities management institutions are different. Therefore, there is no integrated SOC monitoring system. Hence, this study developed a 'SOC information system' that can collect reports scattered throughout the country and support report cards. The demonstration system was implemented through the web and the feasibility of implementing the evaluation support system was confirmed. The collection distributed SOC data should be supported by national policy. Although it takes a long time, it is necessary to improve national competitiveness and public safety.