• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 2021

Objective : Classification systems for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) have traditionally focused on the morphological characteristics of ossification. Although the classification describes many clinical features associated with the shape of the ossification, including the concept of spondylosis seems necessary because of the similarity in age distribution. Methods : Patients diagnosed with OPLL who presented with increase signal intensity (ISI) on magnetic resonance imaging were surgically treated in our department. The patients were divided into two groups (pure versus degenerative) according to the presence of disc degeneration. Results : Of 141 patients enrolled in this study, more than half (61%) were classified into the degenerative group. The pure group showed a profound male predominance, early presentation of myelopathy, and a different predilection for ISI compared to the degenerative group. The mean canal compromise ratio (CC) of the ISI was 47% in the degenerative group versus 61% in the pure group (p<0.0000). On the contrary, the global and segment motions were significantly larger in the degenerative group (p<0.0000 and p=0.003, respectively). The canal diameters and global angles did not differ between groups. Conclusion : Classifying cervical OPLL based on the presence of combined disc degeneration is beneficial for understanding the disorder's behavior. CC appears to be the main factor in the development of myelopathy in the pure group, whereas additional dynamic factors appear to affect its development in the degenerative group.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 2021

Buildings made using the locally available clay materials are amongst the least expensive forms of construction in many developing countries, and therefore, widely popular in remote areas. It is despite the fact that these low-strength masonry structures are vulnerable to seismic forces. Since transporting imported materials like cement and steel in areas inaccessible by motorable roads is challenging and financially unviable. This paper presents, and experimentally investigates, adobe masonry structures that utilize the abundantly available local clay materials with moderate use of imported materials like cement, aggregates, and steel. Shake-table tests were performed on two 1:3 reduce-scaled adobe masonry models for experimental seismic testing and verification. The model AM1 was confined with vertical lightly reinforced concrete columns provided at all corners and reinforced concrete horizontal bands (i.e., tie beams) provided at sill, lintel, and eave levels. The model AM2 was confined only with the horizontal bands provided at sill, lintel, and eave levels. The models were subjected to sinusoidal base motions for studying the damage evolution and response of the model under dynamic lateral loading. The lateral forcedeformation capacity curves for both models were developed and bi-linearized to compute the seismic response parameters: stiffness, strength, ductility, and response modification factor R. Seismic performance levels, story-drift, base shear coefficient, and the expected structural damages, were defined for both the models. Seismic performance assessment of the selected models was carried out using the lateral seismic force procedure to evaluate their safety in different seismic zones. The use of vertical columns in AM1 has shown a considerable increase in the lateral strength of the model in comparison to AM2. Although an R factor equal to 2.0 is recommended for both the models, AM1 has exhibited better seismic performance in all seismic zones due to its relatively high lateral strength in comparison to AM2.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

The occurrence of progressive collapse induced by the removal of the vertical load-bearing element in the structure, because of fire or earthquake, has been a significant challenge between structural engineers. Progressive collapse is defined as the complete failure or failure of a part of the structure, initiating with a local rupture in a part of the building and can threaten the stability of the structure. In the current study, the behavior of the structures equipped with a cylindrical friction damper, when the vertical load-bearing elements are eliminated, is considered in two cases: 1-The load-bearing element is removed under the gravity load, and 2-The load-bearing element is removed due to the earthquake lateral forces. In order to obtain a generalized result in the seismic case, 22 pair motions presented in FEMA p 695 are applied to the structures. The study has been conducted using the vertical push down analysis for the case (1), and the nonlinear time-history analysis for the second case using OpenSEES software for 5,10, and 15-story steel frames. Results indicate that, in the first case, the load coefficient, and accordingly the strength of the structure equipped with cylindrical friction dampers are increased considerably. Furthermore, the results from the second case demonstrate that the displacements, and consequently the forces imposed to the structure in the buildings equipped with the cylindrical friction damper substantially was reduced. An optimum slip load is defined in the friction dampers, which permits the damper to start its frictional damping from this threshold load. Therefore, the optimum slip load of the damper is calculated and discussed for both cases.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.289-301
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• 2023

Developing a competent soil-bridge interaction model for the seismic analysis of piled foundation bridges is of utmost importance for investigating the seismic response and assessing fragility of these lifeline structures. To this end, ground motion histories are deemed necessary at various depths along the piles supporting the bridge. This may be effectively accomplished through time history analysis of a free-field standalone soil column extending from bedrock level to ground surface subjected to an input bedrock motion at its base. A one-dimensional site/ground response analysis (vide one-directional shear wave propagation through the soil column) is hence conducted in the present research accounting for the nonlinear hysteretic behavior of the soil stratum encompassing the bridge piled foundation. Two homogeneous soil profiles atop of bedrock have been considered for comparison purposes, namely, loose and dense sand. Analysis of the standalone soil column has been performed under a set of ten selected actual bedrock ground motions adopting a nonlinear time domain approach in an incremental dynamic analysis framework. Amplified retrieved PGA and maximum soil shear strains have been generally observed at various depths of the soil column when moving away from bedrock towards ground surface especially at large hazards associated with high (input) PGA values assigned at bedrock. This has been accompanied, however, by some attenuation of the amplified PGA values at shallower depths and at ground surface especially for the loose sand soil and particularly for cases with higher seismic hazards associated with large scaling factors of bedrock records.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.409-423
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• 2022

Nowadays, there is a high demand for great structural implementation and multifunctionality with excellent mechanical properties. The porous structures reinforced by graphene platelets (GPLs) having valuable properties, such as heat resistance, lightweight, and excellent energy absorption, have been considerably used in different engineering implementations. However, stiffness of porous structures reduces significantly, due to the internal cavities, by adding GPLs into porous medium, effective mechanical properties of the porous structure considerably enhance. This paper is relating to vibration analysis of fluidconveying cantilever porous graphene platelet reinforced (GPLR) pipe with fractional viscoelastic model resting on foundations. A dynamical model of cantilever porous GPLR pipes conveying fluid and resting on a foundation is proposed, and the vibration, natural frequencies and primary resonant of such a system are explored. The pipe body is considered to be composed of GPLR viscoelastic polymeric pipe with porosity in which Halpin-Tsai scheme in conjunction with the fractional viscoelastic model is used to govern the construction relation of nanocomposite pipe. Three different porosity distributions through the pipe thickness are introduced. The harmonic concentrated force is also applied to the pipe and the excitation frequency is close to the first natural frequency. The governing equation for transverse motions of the pipe is derived by the Hamilton principle and then discretized by the Galerkin procedure. In order to obtain the frequency-response equation, the differential equation is solved with the assumption of small displacement, damping coefficient, and excitation amplitude by the multiple scale method. A parametric sensitivity analysis is carried out to reveal the influence of different parameters, such as nanocomposite pipe properties, fluid velocity and nonlinear viscoelastic foundation coefficients, on the primary resonance and linear natural frequency. Results indicate that the GPLs weight fraction porosity coefficient, fractional derivative order and the retardation time have substantial influences on the dynamic response of the system.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.37-47
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• 2023

A new clamped mechanical splice system was proposed to develop structural performance and constructability for precast concrete connections. The proposed mechanical splice resists external loading immediately after the engagement. The mechanical splices applicable for both large-scale rebars for plants and small-scale rebars for buildings were developed with the same design concept. Quasi-static lateral cyclic loading tests were conducted with reinforced and precast concrete members to verify the seismic performance. Also, shaking table tests with three types of seismic wave excitation, 1) random wave with white noise, 2) the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, and 3) the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, were conducted to confirm the dynamic performance. All tests were performed with real-scale concrete specimens. Sensors measured the lateral load, acceleration, displacement, crack pattern, and secant system stiffness, and energy dissipation was determined by lateral load-displacement relation. As a result, the precast specimen provided the emulative performance with RC. In the shaking table tests, PC frames' maximum acceleration and displacement response were amplified 1.57 - 2.85 and 2.20 - 2.92 times compared to the ground motions. The precast specimens utilizing clamped mechanical splice showed ductile behavior with energy dissipation capacity against strong motion earthquakes.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.503-515
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• 2022

This paper presents the development of seismic fragility curves for a precast reinforced concrete bridge instrumented with a structural health monitoring (SHM) system. The bridge is located near an active seismic fault in the Dominican Republic (DR) and provides the only access to several local communities in the aftermath of a potential damaging earthquake; moreover, the sample bridge was designed with outdated building codes and uses structural detailing not adequate for structures in seismic regions. The bridge was instrumented with an SHM system to extract information about its state of structural integrity and estimate its seismic performance. The data obtained from the SHM system is integrated with structural models to develop a set of fragility curves to be used as a quantitative measure of the expected damage; the fragility curves provide an estimate of the probability that the structure will exceed different damage limit states as a function of an earthquake intensity measure. To obtain the fragility curves a digital twin of the bridge is developed combining a computational finite element model and the information extracted from the SHM system. The digital twin is used as a response prediction tool that minimizes modeling uncertainty, significantly improving the predicting capability of the model and the accuracy of the fragility curves. The digital twin was used to perform a nonlinear incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) with selected ground motions that are consistent with the seismic fault and site characteristics. The fragility curves show that for the maximum expected acceleration (with a 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years) the structure has a 62% probability of undergoing extensive damage. This is the first study presenting fragility curves for civil infrastructure in the DR and the proposed methodology can be extended to other structures to support disaster mitigation and post-disaster decision-making strategies.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.141-152
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• 2015

The objective of this study is to estimate shear wave velocity of rockfill materials by making practical use of the micro-earthquake records which are ordinarily obtained at a domestic rockfill dam and to verify its applicability. Micro-earthquake records were obtained at the site of Heongseong dam and Soyanggang dam, which are the existing multi-purpose dams in Korea. In the previous study, the fundamental periods of each dam were already evaluated by analyzing the response spectrum of the observed records. In this study, numerical analyses varying shear moduli of rockfill zone were carried out using the acceleration histories measured at the abutment as input ground motions. From comparison between the fundamental periods calculated by numerical analyses and measured records, the shear wave velocities with depth were estimated. It is found that the effect of different earthquake events on shear wave velocity estimation for the target dam materials is negligible and the shear wave velocity can be consistently evaluated. Furthermore, comparing the shear wave velocity with the previous researchers' empirical relationships and field test results, applicability of suggested method is verified. Therefore, in case that it is impossible to conduct field tests and estimation is preliminary, the suggested method can be practically used.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.19 no.2 s.72
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• pp.171-185
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• 2006

A sophisticated reliability analysis method is proposed to evaluate the reliability of real nonlinear complicated dynamic structural systems excited by short duration dynamic loadings like earthquake motions by intelligently integrating the response surface method, the finite element method, the first-order reliability method, and the iterative linear interpolation scheme. The method explicitly considers all major sources of nonlinearity and uncertainty in the load and resistance-related random variables. The unique feature of the technique is that the seismic loading is applied in the time domain, providing an alternative to the classical random vibration approach. The four-parameter Richard model is used to represent the flexibility of connections of real steel frames. Uncertainties in the Richard parameters are also incorporated in the algorithm. The laterally flexible steel frame is then reinforced with reinforced concrete shear walls. The stiffness degradation of shear walls after cracking is also considered. The applicability of the method to estimate the reliability of real structures is demonstrated by considering three examples; a laterally flexible steel frame with fully restrained connections, the same steel frame with partially restrained connections with different rigidities, and a steel frame reinforced with concrete shear walls.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.27-37
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• 1983

A method of dynamic analysis is developed for torsional free vibrations of elliptical-box girder type or stiffening truss system suspension bridge. In this study, the method based on a finite element technique using a digital computer, is illustrated by two numerical examples, the Namhae Bridge which is located in Kyungsang nam-do opened on June, 1973, and the Mt. Chunma Bridge is simple span pedestrian's suspension bridge with lateral bracing system in Mt. Chunma, Kyungki-do, are used. In general, dynamic modes of complex suspension bridges are three-dimensional in form, i.e., coupling between vertical and torsional motions. However, introduced that amplitudes of oscillation are infinitesimal for coincidence with the purpose of it's use, thereupon, the torsional vibration analyses are treated without coupling terms. A sufficient number of natural frequencies and mode shapes for torsional free vibration are presented in this paper. In the case of Mt. Chunma Bridge, the natural frequencies and periods are computed with and without reinforcement, respectively, and compared their discrepancies. The influence of the auxiliary reinforcing cables is prevailing in the first few modes, namely, 1st and 2nd in symmetric and 1st, 2nd and 3rd in antisymmetric vibration, and conspicuous in the symmetric compared with the antisymmetric motion, but in the higher modes, this kind of simple accessory elucidates rether converse effects. In the Namhae Bridge, the results are compared with the Manual's obtained by wind tunnel test. It reveals commendable agreement.