• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2016

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) have been shown to be efficient lateral force-resisting systems, which are increasingly used in new and retrofit construction. These structural systems are designed with either stiffened and stocky or unstiffened and slender web plates based on disparate structural and economical considerations. Based on some limited reported studies, on the other hand, employment of low yield point (LYP) steel infill plates with extremely low yield strength, and high ductility as well as elongation properties is found to facilitate the design and improve the structural behavior and seismic performance of the SPSW systems. On this basis, this paper reports system-level investigations on the seismic response assessment of multi-story SPSW frames under the action of earthquake ground motions. The effectiveness of the strip model in representing the behaviors of SPSWs with different buckling and yielding properties is primarily verified. Subsequently, the structural and seismic performances of several code-designed and retrofitted SPSW frames with conventional and LYP steel infill plates are investigated through detailed modal and nonlinear time-history analyses. Evaluation of various seismic response parameters including drift, acceleration, base shear and moment, column axial load, and web-plate ductility demands, demonstrates the capabilities of SPSW systems in improving the seismic performance of structures and reveals various advantages of use of LYP steel material in seismic design and retrofit of SPSW systems, in particular, application of LYP steel infill plates of double thickness in seismic retrofit of conventional steel and code-designed SPSW frames.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.269-280
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• 2021

Reinforced concrete (RC) structural walls with L-shaped sections are commonly used in RC buildings. The walls are often expected to sustain biaxial load and Unsymmetrical bending in an earthquake event. However, there currently exists limited experimental evidence regarding their seismic behaviour in these lateral loading directions. This paper makes experimental and numerical investigations to these walls behaviours. Experimental evidences are presented for four L-shaped wall specimens which were tested under simulated seismic load from different lateral directions. The results highlighted some distinct behaviour of L-shaped walls sustaining Unsymmetrical bending relating to their seismic performance. First, due to the Unsymmetrical bending, out-of-plane reaction forces occur for these walls, which contribute to accumulation of the out-of-plane deformations of the wall, especially when out-of-plane stiffness of the section is reduced by horizontal cracks in the cyclic load. Secondly, cracking was found to affect shear centre of the specimens loaded in the Unsymmetrical bending direction. The shear centre of these specimens distinctly differs in the flange in the positive and negative loading direction. Cracking of the flange also causes significant warping in the bottom part of the wall, which eventually lead to out-of-plane buckling failure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.339-351
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• 2022

A mortar-filled rectangular hollow structural section (RHS) can increase a structural section property as well as a compressive buckling capacity of a RHS member. In this study, the tensile performance of newly developed mortar-filled RHS members was experimentally evaluated with various connection details. The major test parameters were the type of end connections, the thickness of cap plates and shear plates, the use of stud bolts, and penetrating bars. The test results showed that the welded T-end connection experienced a brittle weld fracture at the welded connection, whereas the tensile performance of the T-end connection was improved by additional stud bolts inserted into the mortar within the RHS tube. For the end connection using shear plates and penetrating stud bolts, ductile behavior of the RHS tube was achieved after yielding. The penetrating bars increased load carrying capacity of the RHS. Based on the analysis of the load transfer mechanism, the current design code and test results were compared to evaluate the tensile capacity of the RHS tube according to the connection details. Design considerations for the connections of the mortar-filled RHS tubes were also recommended.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.423-436
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• 2022

This paper proposes an innovative thin-walled square concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) column with an octagonal/circular lining steel tube, in which the outer steel tube and the inner liner are fabricated independently of each other and connected by slot-weld or self-tapping screw connections. Twelve thin-walled square CFST columns were tested under quasi-static loading, considering the parameters of liner type, connection type between the square tube and liner, yield strength of steel tube, and the axial load ratio. The seismic performance of the thin-walled square CFST columns is effectively improved by the octagonal and circular liners, and all the liner-stiffened specimens showed an excellent ductile behavior with the ultimate draft ratios being much larger than 1/50 and the ductility coefficients being generally higher than 4.0. The energy dissipation abilities of the specimens with circular liners and self-tapping screw connections were superior to those with octagonal liner and slot-weld connections. Based on the test results, both the finite element (FE) and simplified theoretical models were established, considering the post-buckling strength of the thin-walled square steel tube and the confinement effect of the liners, and the proposed models well predicted the hysteretic behavior of the liner-stiffened specimens.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.79-86
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• 2023

Damage to gas and fire protection piping systems can lead to secondary disasters after an earthquake, so their seismic design is crucial. Accordingly, various types of seismic restraint installations are being devised, and a new suspended piping trapeze restraint installation has also recently been developed in Korea. In this study, a cyclic loading test was performed on the developed trapeze support system, and its performance was evaluated according to ASHRAE 171, the standard for seismic and wind restraint design established by the American Society of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The three support system specimens did not break or fracture, causing only insignificant deformations until the end of the experiment. Based on the experimentally rated strength and displacement performance, this trapeze support system is expected to control the seismic movement of piping during an earthquake.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.89 no.3
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• pp.239-252
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• 2024

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) are classified as lateral load-resisting systems. The feasibility of openings in the steel plate is a characteristic of SPSWs. The use of openings in SPSWs can lower the load capacity, stiffness, and energy dissipation. This study proposes a novel form of SPSWs that provides convenient access through openings by combining steel plates and eccentrically braced frames (EBFs). The proposed system also avoids a substantial reduction in the strength and stiffness. Hence, various geometric forms were analyzed through two different structural approaches. Groups 1, 2, and 3 included a steel EBF with a steel plate between the column and EBF in order to improve system performance. In Group 4, the proposed system was evaluated within an SPSW with openings and an EBF on the opening edge. To evaluate the performance of the proposed systems, the nonlinear finite element method (NL-FEM) was employed under cyclic loading. The hysteresis (load-drift) curve, stress contour, stiffness, and damping were evaluated as the structural outputs. The numerical models indicated that local buckling within the middle plate-EBF connection prevented a diagonal tension field. Moreover, in group 4, the EBF and stiffeners on the opening edge enhanced the structural response by approximately 7.5% in comparison with the base SPSW system.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.569-581
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• 2019

Corrugated steel plate shear wall (CSPSW) as an innovative lateral load resisting system provides various advantages in comparison with the flat steel plate shear wall, including remarkable in-plane and out-of-plane stiffnesses and stability, greater elastic shear buckling stress, increasing the amount of cumulative dissipated energy and maintaining efficiency even in large story drifts. Employment of low yield point (LYP) steel web plate in steel shear walls can dramatically improve their structural performance and prevent early stage instability of the panels. This paper presents a comprehensive structural performance assessment of corrugated low yield point steel plate shear walls having circular openings located in different positions. Accordingly, following experimental verification of CSPSW finite element models, several trapezoidally horizontal CSPSW (H-CSPSW) models having LYP steel web plates as well as circular openings (for ducts) perforated in various locations have been developed to explore their hysteresis behavior, cumulative dissipated energy, lateral stiffness, and ultimate strength under cyclic loading. Obtained results reveal that the rehabilitation of damaged steel shear walls using corrugated LYP steel web plate can enhance their structural performance. Furthermore, choosing a suitable location for the circular opening regarding the design purpose paves the way for the achievement of the shear wall's optimal performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.36-43
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• 2022

Generally, in construction sites, the pipe support installation workers often use support pins of 9~10 mm which are much smaller than the safety standard sizes for work convenience. Although the safety certification standard thickness of the support pins is 11 mm, and the supervisors are often indifferent to this. Hence, products with far lower performance than the pipe support safety certification value of 40,000 N, which is applied in the supporting post-structural review, are used. Accordingly, this acts as a factor causing collapse accidents in the process of pouring concrete at the construction site. Therefore, this study performed compression experiments on new and reused pipe supports to determine how the thickness of the support pins affects the structural compression performance of the pipe support by considering the thickness of the support pins as a critical variable among various factors affecting the pipe support performance. In the course of the study, the compression test of the pipe support (V2, V4) for the new products showed that only 14 (58.3%) of the total 24 samples satisfied the safety certification standard value of 40,000 N, which indicates that more thorough quality control is required in the manufacturing process. Additionally, comparing the thickness of the support pins and their fracture shape shows that the pipes with support length of 4.0 m or longer are much more affected by the buckling of the entire length than the thickness of the support pins. Of the several factors affecting the performance of reused pipe supports, it was found that, similar to the new products, the use of support pins, with thickness of 12 mm rather than 11 mm, can satisfy the safety certification value more appropriately. Therefore, regardless of the state of usage, it could be concluded that it is necessary to use 12 mm products, whose thickness is larger than that of the safety certification standard value of 11 mm, to improve the performance of the pipe supports.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.27-33
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• 2023

In a petrochemical plant, various mechanical equipments and structures are interconnected to ensure operability. Since the production activities of petrochemical plants have a great impact on the national economy, it is very important to maintain not only structural safety but also the operability of the facilities. However, the current seismic design standards present the design requirements of facilities mainly aimed at preventing collapse, and do not provide the requirements for securing operability of facilities. Depending on the behavioral characteristics of the facility, operability of the facility can be secured by seismic performance levels other than the collapse prevention level, so it is necessary to present seismic design methods that can apply various seismic performance levels. Spherical (ball) storage tanks are supported by columns and braces and exhibit complex nonlinear behavior because of buckling and yielding of support members. In this study, nonlinear seismic behavior characteristics were statistically analyzed and a new performance-based seismic design method was proposed based on them.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.77-86
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• 2024

To investigate the seismic performance of steel pipe-aeolian sand recycled concrete columns, this study designed and produced five specimens. Low-cycle repeated load tests were conducted while maintaining a constant axial compression ratio. The experiment aimed to examine the impact of different aeolian sand replacement rates on the seismic performance of these columns. The test results revealed that the mechanical failure modes of the steel pipe-recycled concrete column and the steel pipe-aeolian sand recycled concrete column were similar. Plastic hinges formed and developed at the column foot, and severe local buckling occurred at the bottom of the steel pipe. Interestingly, the bulging height of the damaged steel pipe was reduced for the specimen mixed with an appropriate amount of wind-deposited sand under the same lateral displacement. The hysteresis curves of all five specimens tested were relatively full, with no significant pinching phenomenon observed. Moreover, compared to steel tube-recycled concrete columns, the steel tube-aeolian sand recycled concrete columns exhibited improved seismic energy dissipation capacity and ductility. However, it was noted that as the aeolian sand replacement rate increased, the bearing capacity of the specimen increased first and then decreased. The seismic performance of the specimen was relatively optimal when the aeolian sand replacement rate was 30%. Upon analysis and comparison, the damage analysis model based on stiffness and energy consumption showed good agreement with the test results and proved suitable for evaluating the damage degree of steel pipe-wind-sand recycled concrete structures.