• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.359-379
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• 2020

Due to susceptibility of bridges in the past earthquakes, vulnerability assessment and strengthening of bridges has gained a particular significance. The objective of the present study is to employ an analytical method for the development of fragility curves, as well as to investigate the effect of strengthening on the RC box-girder bridges. Since fragility curves are used for pre-and post-earthquake planning, this paper has attempted to adopt the most reliable modeling assumptions in order to increase the reliability. Furthermore, to acknowledge the interaction of soil, abutment and pile, the effect of different strengthening methods, such as using steel jacketing and FRP layers, the effect of increase in the bridge pier diameter, and the effect of vertical component of earthquake on the vulnerability of bridges in this study, a three-span RC box-girder bridge was modeled in 9 different cases. Nonlinear dynamic analyses were carried out on the studied bridges subjected to 100 ground motion records via OpenSEES platform. Therefore, the fragility curves were plotted and compared in the four damage states. The results revealed that once the interaction of soil and abutment and the vertical component of the earthquake are accounted for in the calculations, the median fragility is reduced, implying that the bridge becomes more vulnerable. It was also confirmed that steel jackets and FRP layers are suitable methods for pier strengthening which reduces the vulnerability of the bridge.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.809-824
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• 2017

The accurate evaluation of wind characteristics and wind-induced structural responses during a typhoon is of significant importance for bridge design and safety assessment. This paper presents an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm-based angular-linear approach for probabilistic modeling of field-measured wind characteristics. The proposed method has been applied to model the wind speed and direction data during typhoons recorded by the structural health monitoring (SHM) system instrumented on the arch Jiubao Bridge located in Hangzhou, China. In the summer of 2015, three typhoons, i.e., Typhoon Chan-hom, Typhoon Soudelor and Typhoon Goni, made landfall in the east of China and then struck the Jiubao Bridge. By analyzing the wind monitoring data such as the wind speed and direction measured by three anemometers during typhoons, the wind characteristics during typhoons are derived, including the average wind speed and direction, turbulence intensity, gust factor, turbulence integral scale, and power spectral density (PSD). An EM algorithm-based angular-linear modeling approach is proposed for modeling the joint distribution of the wind speed and direction. For the marginal distribution of the wind speed, the finite mixture of two-parameter Weibull distribution is employed, and the finite mixture of von Mises distribution is used to represent the wind direction. The parameters of each distribution model are estimated by use of the EM algorithm, and the optimal model is determined by the values of $R^2$ statistic and the Akaike's information criterion (AIC). The results indicate that the stochastic properties of the wind field around the bridge site during typhoons are effectively characterized by the proposed EM algorithm-based angular-linear modeling approach. The formulated joint distribution of the wind speed and direction can serve as a solid foundation for the purpose of accurately evaluating the typhoon-induced fatigue damage of long-span bridges.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2000

Acoustic emission is n burst of microseismic waves generated by microscopic failure due to deformation in materials. The study on the detection of initiation and propagation of microcracks from acoustic emission measurement is very important for the evaluation of the stability of underground rock structures by the nondestructive letting method. In this study, acoustic emission was measured under uniaxial stiffness loading test used to obtain the complete stress-strain curves of marble and concrete used as reinforced materials of rock structures. The analysis of acoustic emission parameters and source location were performed to discuss the characteristics of the deformation and failure behavior of rock and concrete. And acoustic emission was measured under cyclic loading test to verify the Kaiser effect associated with the damage of materials, in situ stress of rock, and stress history of concrete structure.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.100-107
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• 1997

In case of a fire outbreak in a uni-directional road tunnel, the flow of traffic immediately behind the fire disaster will be stalled all the way back to the entrance of the tunnel. Furthermore, when the vehicle passengers try to flee away from the fire toward the entrance of the tunnel, the extremely hot fume that propagates in the same direction will be fatal to the multitudes evacuating, but may also cause damage to the ventilation equipments and the vehicles, compounding the evacuation process. This paper will present the 3-dimensional modelling analysis of the preventive measures of such a fume propagation in the same direction as the evacuating passengers. For the analysis, the fire hazard was assumed to be a perfect combustion of methane gas injected through the 1 m X 2 m nozzle in the middle of the tunnel, and the product of $CO_2$ as the indicator of the fume propagation. From the research results, when the fire hazard occurred in middle of the 400 m road tunnel, the air density decreased around the fire point, and the maximum temperatures were 996 K and 499 K at 210 m and 350 m locations, respectively, 60 seconds after fire disaster occurred, when the fumes were driven out only towards the exit-direction of the tunnel. By tracing the increase of $CO_2$ level over 1% mole fraction, the minimum longitudinal ventilation velocity was found to be 2.40 m/sec. Furthermore, through Analysis of the temperature distribution graphs, and observation of the cross-sectional distribution of $CO_2$ over 1% mole fraction, it was found that the fume did not mix with the air, but rather moved far in a laminar flow towards exit of the tunnel.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.181-187
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• 2012

Many researches on disaster prevention using computer simulation methods can be performed to minimize the damage of property and to protect human life. Discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is a new computer simulation method to analyze the behavior of discontinuous rock masses. Since most rock slope problems are 3-dimensional in nature, 2-dimensional deformation analysis has limited application. In this study, the basic principles of 3-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis are described. The newly developed 3-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis method is proposed as the computer simulation method for discontinuous rock masses. Then, the failure behavior of rock slopes are simulated using 3-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis. The simulation results are compared and examined with the failure behavior at the rock slopes. The results show the applicability of 3-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis to analyze the deformation and failure mechanisms of rock slopes.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2010

For the elasto-plastic analysis of a circular tunnel driven in a strain-softening rock mass subjected to a hydrostatic in-situ stress condition, this study suggests a convenient elasto-plastic analysis scheme which takes the strain-softening of GSI index into account and demonstrates its potential as a numerical tool in designing a circular tunnel. The suggested numerical scheme was developed by modifying the previous elasto-plastic procedure proposed by Lee & Pietruszczak(2008). With the assumption that GSI index of rock mass adjacent to the tunnel surface may be degraded due to the damage caused by the blasting and excavation, the concept of the strain-softening of GSI index was invoked. The concept provides a useful tool considering the strain-softening of the strength parameters appearing in the generalized Hoek-Brown criterion because these parameters can be evaluated empirically by use of GSI. In order to check the validity of the proposed scheme, the elasto-plastic analyses for circular tunnels were performed in various analysis conditions and the results were discussed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2010

Geo-hazard shows a rapid increasing tendency with establishment of frequent great slopes in various construction sites, especially in the unfavorable topographic condition in which about 70% of the surface is covered by the mountainous area. An repeatedly taking place on the heavy rain season is accompanied by a large scale of rockfall, and causes great damage to an individual as well as a property. Even though lots of field studies and fundamental studies have been performed to reduce this hazard, however, an essential study on the mechanism of the rockfall should be limited to the conventional studies on the slope reinforcement and/or the rockfall risk analysis. In this study, the mechanism of rockfall depending on the morphologic characteristics of slope has been simulated numerically with the PFC2D, one of the discrete element programs. For analyzing its mechanism, the input parameters relating to the slope such as surface condition, gradient, number of benches, bench gradient, and the ratio of bench width to rockfall size were taken into consideration.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.14 no.6 s.53
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• pp.411-422
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• 2004

Sinkhole subsidence occurs over abandoned mine workings and can be detrimental to human lives, damage to properties and other surface structures. In this study, simulation of sinkhole development process is performed using special finite element procedure. Especially, creation of mine voids due to roof falls and generation of goaf from broken rocks are simulated using active-passive-active finite elements. An active or solid element can be made passive or void once the tensile failure criterion is satisfied in the specified sinkhole formation zone. Upon completion of sinkhole development process, these passive elements in again be made active to simulate goal region. Several finite element models are analyzed to evaluate the relationships between sinkhole formation with width of gallery. depth of mine, roof condition and bulking factor of roof rocks. This study demonstrates that the concept of passive elements in numerical analysis can be used effectively for analyzing sinkhole formation or roof fall phenomenon in general.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.88-100
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• 1990

Among the test methods to evaluate stress-corrosion cracking(SCC) on the basis of fracture mechanics, constant displacement(bolt) loading method using modified-WOL specimen is practically convenient. In this test method, compliance formula is generally required to calculate load(consequently $K_{ISCC}$). There are many problems in using the analytic compliance formula to calculate $K_{ISCC}$, so we had proposed the experimental $K_{ISCC}$ evaluation technique in the previous report. This study has employed the slightly altered configuration of modified-WOL specimen made of weldable structural stee(BS360-50D). With these specimens, stress-corrosion tests have been performed in $H_2S$ gas saturated 20% HCl solution. Through the test, the problems as mentioned earlier have been discussed again, and the proposed evaluation technique has been verified. And the stress-corrosion cracks and hydrogen blisters have been investigated in the initiation step with the aids of metallurgical micrographs, SEM fractographs, and EPMA analysis. The inclusions segregated in the mid-thickness region traps hydrogen to produce the hydrogen blistering. The applied or residual stress does not contribute the occurrence of the blister. Hydrogen absorbed into the mid-thickness region is consumed to produce the blistering so that stress-corrosion crack could hardly be detected at that region. The stress-corrosion cracks initiate from the inclusions and propagate in radial pattern. And the initiation site is remote from the crack tip and is inclined from the crack plane, which is assumed to be caused by the triaxial stress and the amount of the absorbed hydrogen.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.332-340
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• 2015

Ground subsidence occurring in mine area can cause an enormous damage of loss of lives and properties, and a systematic survey should be conducted a series of field investigation and ground stability analysis in subsidence area. This study describes the results from field investigation and ground stability analysis in a limestone mine located in Cheongwon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. Rock mechanical measurements and electrical resistivity surveys are applied to obtain the characteristics of in-situ rock masses and the distribution patterns of subsurface weak zone, and their results are extrapolated in numerical analysis. From the field investigation and stability analysis, it is concluded that the subsidence occurrence in this limestone mine is caused mainly by subsurface limestone cavities.