• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.143-160
• /
• 2013

This paper presents the results of an experimental program concerning the efficiency of a specific strengthening technique which utilizes a small steel link element connected to the R/C frame through bracing elements. Brittle types of failure, especially at the connections between steel and concrete elements, can be avoided by appropriate design of the local details. Five single storey one bay R/C frames scaled 1:3 were constructed according to older codes with substandard details. The first one was a typical bare reference frame. The other four were identical to the first one, strengthened by steel bracing elements. The behavior of the strengthened frames is described with respect to the reference bare frame. The concrete frames were constructed according to older code provisions by the use of smooth steel bars, low strength concrete, sparsely spaced stirrups and substandard details. The strengthening scheme aimed to the increase of both strength and deformation capacity of the original R/C frame. The inelastic deformations are purposely concentrated to a short steel link element connecting the steel bracing to the R/C frame. The results show that the steel link element can increase considerably the strength and the energy dissipation capacity of the frame.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.379-394
• /
• 2013

Post-earthquake fire (PEF) can lead to a rapid collapse of buildings damaged partially as a result of prior earthquake. Almost all standards and codes for the design of structures against earthquake ignore the risk of PEF, and thus buildings designed using those codes could be too weak when subjected to a fire after an earthquake. An investigation based on sequential analysis inspired by FEMA356 is performed here on the Immediate Occupancy, Life Safety and Collapse Prevention performance levels of structures, designed to the ACI 318-08 code, after they are subjected to an earthquake level with PGA of 0.35g. This investigation is followed by a fire analysis of the damaged structures, examining the time taken for the damaged structures to collapse. As a point of reference, a fire analysis is also performed for undamaged structures and before the occurrence of earthquake. The results indicate that the vulnerability of structures increases dramatically when a previously damaged structure is exposed to PEF. The results also show that the damaging effects of post-earthquake fire are exacerbated when initiated from the second and third floor. Whilst the investigation is made for a certain class of structures (conventional buildings, intermediate reinforced structure, 3 stories), the results confirm the need for the incorporation of post-earthquake fire into the process of analysis and design, and provides some quantitative measures on the level of associated effects.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.129-139
• /
• 2014

In this study, the concrete fracture energy was obtained using the three point notched beam test method developed by Hillerborg et al. (Cem Concr Res 6(6):773-782, 1976). A total of 12 notched concrete beams were tested under two different loading conditions: constant stroke control and constant crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) control. Despite individual fracture energies obtained from the two different loading conditions showing some variation, the average fracture energy from both loading conditions was very similar. Furthermore, the results obtained support the idea that a far tail constant "A" could change the true fracture energy by up to 11 %, if it is calculated using CMOD instead of LVDT. The far tail constant "A" is determined using a least squares fit onto a straight line according to Elices et al. (Mater Struct 25(148):212-218, 1992) and RILEM report (2007). It was also observed that the selection of the end point can produce variations of the true fracture energy. The end point indicates the point in the experiment at which to stop. An end point of 2 mm has been recommended, however, in this study other end points were also considered. The final form of the bilinear softening curve was determined based on Elices and Guinea's methods (1992, 1994) and RILEM report (2007). This paper proposes a bilinear stress-crack opening displacement curve according to test results as well as the CEB-FIP model code.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.697-715
• /
• 2013

Numerous studies have been conducted to understand the shear behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams since it is a complex phenomenon. The diagonal cracking strength of a RC beam is critical since it is essential for determining the minimum amount of stirrups and the contribution of concrete to the shear strength of the beam. Most of the existing equations predicting the diagonal cracking strength of RC beams are based on experimental data. A powerful computational tool for analyzing experimental data is an artificial neural network (ANN). Its advantage over conventional methods for empirical modeling is that it does not require any functional form and it can be easily updated whenever additional data is available. An ANN model was developed for predicting the diagonal cracking strength of RC slender beams without stirrups. It is shown that the performance of the ANN model over the experimental data considered in this study is better than the performances of six design code equations and twelve equations proposed by various researchers. In addition, a parametric study was conducted to study the effects of various parameters on the diagonal cracking strength of RC slender beams without stirrups upon verifying the model.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.245-255
• /
• 1994

A two-dimensional Lagrangian finite-difference computer program is developed for the wave propagation analysis of impact phenomena. The numerical scheme is the standard method originally proposed by Von Neuman and Richtmyer, using artificial viscosity to smooth shock fronts. The material model used in the study is the standard hydrodynamic-elastic-plastic relations with Von-Mises yield criterion. A test configuration consisted of a target and a projectile were calculated to understand the response of a colliding event. However, the computer code is in plane strain, the calculations were intended for generating the qualitative features of the model behaviors. Nevertheless, the computational results were consistent with the experimental observations and provided a rational basis to interpret the modes of failures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.73 no.3
• /
• pp.339-351
• /
• 2020

Earthquakes are natural disasters that cause serious social disruptions and economic losses. In particular, they have a significant impact on critical lifeline infrastructure such as urban water transmission networks. Therefore, it is important to predict network performance and provide an alternative that minimizes the damage by considering the factors affecting lifeline structures. This paper proposes a probabilistic reliability approach for post-hazard flow analysis of a water transmission network according to earthquake magnitude, pipeline deterioration, and interdependency between pumping plants and 154 kV substations. The model is composed of the following three phases: (1) generation of input ground motion considering spatial correlation, (2) updating the revised nodal demands, and (3) calculation of available nodal demands. Accordingly, a computer code was developed to perform the hydraulic analysis and numerical modelling of water facilities. For numerical simulation, an actual water transmission network was considered and the epicenter was determined from historical earthquake data. To evaluate the network performance, flow-based performance indicators such as system serviceability, nodal serviceability, and mean normal status rate were introduced. The results from the proposed approach quantitatively show that the water network is significantly affected by not only the magnitude of the earthquake but the interdependency and pipeline deterioration.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.551-563
• /
• 2020

This paper investigates the artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the dimensionless parameters for the maximum contact pressures and contact areas of a contact problem. Firstly, the problem is formulated and solved theoretically by using Theory of Elasticity and Integral Transform Technique. Secondly, the contact problem has been extended based on the ANN. The multilayer perceptron (MLP) with three-layer was used to calculate the contact distances. External load, distance between the two quarter planes, layer heights and material properties were created by giving examples of different values were used at the training and test stages of ANN. Program code was rewritten in C++. Different types of network structures were used in the training process. The accuracy of the trained neural networks for the case was tested using 173 new data which were generated via theoretical solutions so as to determine the best network model. As a result, minimum deviation value (difference between theoretical and C++ ANN results) of was obtained for the network model. Theoretical results were compared with artificial neural network results and well agreements between them were achieved.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.59-77
• /
• 2020

The code static eccentricity model for elastic torsional design of structures has two critical shortcomings: (1) the negation of the inertial torsional moment at the center of mass (CM), particularly for torsionally-unbalanced (TU) building structures, and (2) the confusion caused by the discrepancy in the definition of the design eccentricity in codes and the resistance eccentricity commonly used by engineers such as in FEMA454. To overcome these shortcomings, using the resistance eccentricity model that can accommodate the inertial torsional moment at the CM, interactive relations between shear and torsion are proposed as follows: (1) elastic responses of structures at instants of peak edge-frame drifts are given as functions of resistance eccentricity, and (2) elastic hysteretic relationships between shear and torsion in forces and deformations are bounded by ellipsoids constructed using two adjacent dominant modes. Comparison of demands estimated using these two interactive relations with those from shake-table tests of two TU building structures (a 1:5-scale five-story reinforced concrete (RC) building model and a 1:12-scale 17-story RC building model) under the service level earthquake (SLE) show that these relations match experimental results of models reasonably well. Concepts proposed in this study enable engineers to not only visualize the overall picture of torsional behavior including the relationship between shear and torsion with the range of forces and deformations, but also pinpoint easily the information about critical responses of structures such as the maximum edge-frame drifts and the corresponding shear force and torsion moment with the eccentricity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.177-184
• /
• 2018

In case that limited resources can be mobilized, non-structural countermeasures such as 'monitoring using Information and Communication Technology might be one of solutions to mitigate disaster risks. Having established the monitoring system, operational and maintenance costs to maximize the effectiveness might trouble the authority concerned or duty attendant who is in charge. In this respect, "Guerrilla Sensor" would be very cost effective because of the inherent mobility characteristic. The sensor device with the IRIS camera and GPS (Global Positioning System) equipped, is basically battery-operated and communicates with WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access). It has a strong advantage of capabilities for 'Disaster Response' with immediate and prompt action on the spot, making the best use of IoT (Internet of Things), especially with the mobile web. This paper will explain how the sensor system works in real-time GIS (Geographic Information System) pinpointing the exact location of the abnormal movement/ground displacement and notifying the registered users via SMS (Short Message Service). Real time monitoring with early warning and evaluation of current situations with LBS (Location Based Service), live image and data information can help to reduce the disaster impact. Installation of Guerrilla sensor for a real site application at Gimcheon, South Korea is also reported.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.443-462
• /
• 2015

Some model building codes stipulate that the design displacement of a building can be computed using the elastic static analysis results multiplied by the deflection amplification factor, $C_d$. This approach for estimating the design displacement is essential and appealing in structural engineering practice when nonlinear response history analysis (NRHA) is not required. Furthermore, building codes stipulate the consideration of accidental torsion effects using accidental eccentricity, whether the buildings are symmetric-plan, or asymmetric-plan. In some model building codes, the accidental eccentricity is further amplified by the torsional amplification factor $A_x$ in order to minimize the discrepancy between statically and dynamically estimated responses. Therefore, this warrants exploration of the reliability of statically estimated design displacements in accordance with the building code requirements. This study uses the discrepancy curves as a way of assessing the reliability of the design displacement estimates resulting from the factors $C_d$ and $A_x$. The discrepancy curves show the exceedance probabilities of the differences between the statically estimated design displacements and NRHA results. The discrepancy curves of 3-story, 9-story, and 20-story example buildings are investigated in this study. The example buildings are steel special moment frames with frequency ratios equal to 0.7, 1.0, 1.3, and 1.6, as well as existing eccentricity ratios ranging from 0% to 30%.