• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.121-128
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• 2020

In this paper, the ASCE 7 equivalent static approach for seismic design of non-structural elements is critically evaluated based on the measured floor acceleration data, theory of structural dynamics, and linear/nonlinear dynamic analysis of three-dimensional building models. The analysis of this study on the up-to-date database of the instrumented buildings in California clearly reveals that the measured database does not well corroborate the magnitude and the profile of the floor acceleration as proposed by ASCE 7. The basic flaws in the equivalent static approach are illustrated using elementary structural dynamics. Based on the linear and nonlinear dynamic analyses of three-dimensional case study buildings, it is shown that the magnitude and distribution of the PFA (peak floor acceleration) can significantly be affected by the supporting structural characteristics such as fundamental period, higher modes, structural nonlinearity, and torsional irregularity. In general, the equivalent static approach yields more conservative acceleration demand as building period becomes longer, and the PFA distribution in long-period buildings tend to become constant along the building height due to the higher mode effect. Structural nonlinearity was generally shown to reduce floor acceleration because of its period-lengthening effect. Torsional floor amplification as high as 250% was observed in the building model of significant torsional irregularity, indicating the need for inclusion of the torsional amplification to the equivalent static approach when building torsion is severe. All these results lead to the conclusion that, if permitted, dynamic methods which can account for supporting structural characteristics, should be preferred for rational seismic design of non-structural elements.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.201-215
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• 1999

Field measurements were made for long- and short-period waves and current velocities at the harbor mouth using pressure-type wave gauges and a current meter, respectively, at the Gamcheon Harbor which has a rectangular shape with a narrow entrance. The measured pressure data were subjected to spectral analyses after removing tidal effects by applying trend removal and high-pass filtering. For the band averaging of the raw spectra, in order to obtain good resolution over the entire frequency, instead of a constant band width, variable band widths were used, which gradually increase as marching from the lowest frequency towards higher frequencies. The Helmholtz resonance mode at the Gamcheon Harbor shows the relative amplification ratio of 9.2 at the wave period of 31.7 minutes, which is quite large compared with those at the harbors located on the east coast of Korea. The second and the third resonance period was 10.3 and 5.4 minute, respectively. On the other hand, the analysis of every 24 hours data shows that during storms the spectral densities are very large compared to those during calm seas and also the second and third resonances are predominant.