• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.86 no.1
• /
• pp.85-92
• /
• 2023

This article examines the seismic vulnerability of soil nail wall structures. Detailed information regarding finite element modeling has been provided. The fragility function evaluates the relationship between ground motion intensities and the probability of surpassing a specific level of damage. The use of incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) has been applied to the soil nail wall against low to severe ground motions. In the nonlinear dynamic analysis of the soil nail wall, a set of twenty seismic ground motions with varying PGA ranges are used. The numerical results demonstrate that the soil-nailed wall reaction is extremely sensitive to earthquake ground vibrations under different intensity measures (IM). In addition, the analytical fragility curve is provided for various intensity values.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.791-818
• /
• 2015

RC buildings constitute the prevailing type of construction in earthquake-prone region like Kathmandu Valley. Most of these building constructions were based on conventional methods. In this context, the present paper studied the seismic behaviour of existing RC buildings in Kathmandu Valley. For this, four representative building structures with different design and construction, namely a building: (a) representing the non-engineered construction (RC1 and RC2) and (b) engineered construction (RC3 and RC4) has been selected for analysis. The dynamic properties of the case study building models are analyzed and the corresponding interaction with seismic action is studied by means of non-linear analyses. The structural response measures such as capacity curve, inter-storey drift and the effect of geometric non-linearities are evaluated for the two orthogonal directions. The effect of plan and vertical irregularity on the performance of the structures was studied by comparing the results of two engineered buildings. This was achieved through non-linear dynamic analysis with a synthetic earthquake subjected to X, Y and $45^{\circ}$ loading directions. The nature of the capacity curve represents the strong impact of the P-delta effect, leading to a reduction of the global lateral stiffness and reducing the strength of the structure. The non-engineered structures experience inter-storey drift demands higher than the engineered building models. Moreover, these buildings have very low lateral resistant, lesser the stiffness and limited ductility. Finally, a seismic safety assessment is performed based on the proposed drift limits. Result indicates that most of the existing buildings in Nepal exhibit inadequate seismic performance.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.349-360
• /
• 2018

Reinforced concrete (RC) moment frames supported on two ground levels have been widely constructed in mountainous areas with medium to high seismicity in China. In order to investigate the seismic collapse behavior and risk, a scaled frame model was tested under constant axial load and reversed cyclic lateral load. Test results show that the failure can be induced by the development of story yielding at the first story above the upper ground. The strong column and weak beam mechanism can be well realized at stories below the upper ground. Numerical analysis model was developed and calibrated with the test results. Three pairs of six case study buildings considering various structural configurations were designed and analyzed, showing similar dynamic characteristics between frames on two ground levels and flat ground of each pair. Incremental dynamic analyses (IDA) were then conducted to obtain the seismic collapse fragility curves and collapse margin ratios of nine analysis cases designated based on the case study buildings, considering amplification of earthquake effect and strengthening measures. Analysis results indicate that the seismic collapse safety is mainly determined by the stories above the upper ground. The most probable collapse mechanism may be induced by the story yielding of the bottom story on the upper ground level. The use of tie beam and column strengthening can effectively enhance the seismic collapse safety of frames on two ground levels.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.66-79
• /
• 2021

Background: The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is specified in the Disaster Counter-measures Basic Act as a designated public corporation for dealing with nuclear disasters. Materials and Methods: The Nuclear Emergency Assistance and Training Center (NEAT) was established in 2002 as the activity base providing technical assistance to both national and local governments during nuclear emergencies. The NEAT has a robust structure and utilities and special installations, and it organizes training and exercises. Results and Discussion: Due to an offshore earthquake that caused a devastating tsunami in March 2011, a nuclear accident occurred at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The NEAT responded by conducting off-site environmental radiation monitoring and contamination screening, dispatching special vehicles, offering telephone consultations, and calculating the dispersion of radioactive materials. An examination of the emergency response activities revealed that the organization was prepared for these types of disasters and was able to plan long-term response. Conclusion: As a designated public corporation, the JAEA technically supports the national government, the Fukushima prefectural government, and the Ibaraki prefectural government, all of which responded to the off-site emergencies resulting from the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident

• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.89-98
• /
• 2018

Fire accidents in foreign countries, like the accident in a thermal power plant in Beijing, the accidents in domestic power plants, including Boryeong Power Plant in 2012 and Taean Power Plant in 2016, a disaster in a nuclear power plant in Fukushima in 2011 or the large-scale power failure in California in 2001 are safety accidents related to electric power, which caused losses in the people's stable lives and the countries. Electricity has an absolute impact on the people's life and the economy, so we can easily expect the serious situation affecting economic growth as well as direct damage to the protection of the people's lives and the losses of properties, if there are fire or explosion accidents or radioactive leak because of negligence in safety management, or problems because of natural disasters like an earthquake in power plants that generate electricity. In this study, it was drawn the improvement of the organizations exclusively in charge of firefighting, the operation of a program for the improvement of professional competency, the development of a customized firefighting management system for plants for systematic firefighting safety management and the improvement of the earthquake-proof correspondence system, which has recently become an issue, as measures for improvements through a survey of the actual conditions concerning the necessity of the construction of a firefighting safety management system for power plants with five power generation companies, including Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd., and the persons in charge of firefighting safety Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.175-188
• /
• 2020

The Hengda Group super high-rise building in Jinan City uses the frame-core tube structural system. With a height of 238.3 m, it is above the B-level height limit of 150 m for buildings within 7-magnitude seismic fortification zones. Therefore, it is necessary to apply performance-based seismic design to this super high-rise building. In this study, response spectrum analysis and comparative analysis of the structure are conducted using two software applications. Moreover, elastic time-history analysis, seismic analysis under an intermediate earthquake, and elastic-plastic time-history analysis under rare earthquakes are performed. Based on the analysis results, corresponding strengthening measures are implemented at weaker structural locations, such as corners, wall ends connected to framed girders, and coupling beams connected to framed girders. The failure mode and failure zone of major stress components of the structure under rare earthquakes are analysed. The conclusions to this research demonstrate that weaker locations and important parts of the structure satisfy the requirements for elastic-plastic deformation in the event of rare earthquakes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.755-778
• /
• 2010

Near-fault ground motion with directivity or fling effects is significantly influenced by the rupture mechanism and substantially different from ordinary records. This class of ground motion has large amplitude and long period, exhibits unusual response spectra shapes, possesses high PGV/PGA and PGD/PGA ratios and is best characterized in the velocity and the displacement time-histories. Such ground motion is also characterized by its energy being contained in a single or very few pulses, thus capable of causing severe damage to the structures. This paper investigates the characteristics of near-fault pulse-like ground motions and their implications on the structural responses using new proposed measures, such as, the effective frequency range, the energy rate (in time and frequency domains) and the damage indices. The paper develops also simple mathematical expressions for modeling this class of ground motion and the associated structural responses, thus eliminating numerical integration of the equations of motion. An optimization technique is also developed by using energy concepts and damage indices for modeling this class of ground motion for inelastic structures at sites having limited earthquake data.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.233-245
• /
• 2008

For historical masonry structures existing in the Mediterranean area, structural strengthening is of primary importance due to the continuous earthquake threat that is posed on them. Proper retrofitting of historical structures involves a thorough understanding of their structural pathology, before proceeding with any intervention measures. In this paper, a methodology is presented for the evaluation of the actual state of historical masonry structures, which can provide a useful tool for the seismic response assessment before and after the retrofitting. The methodology is mainly focused on the failure and vulnerability analysis of masonry structures using the finite element method. Using this methodology the retrofitting of historical structures with innovative techniques is investigated. The innovative technique presented here involves the exploitation of Shape Memory Alloy prestressed bars. This type of intervention is proposed because it ensures increased reversibility and minimization of interventions, in comparison with conventional retrofitting methods. In this paper, a case study is investigated for the demonstration of the proposed methodologies and techniques, which comprises a masonry Byzantine church and a masonry Cistern. Prestressed SMA alloy bars are placed into the load-bearing system of the structure. The seismic response of the non-retrofitted and the retrofitted finite element models are compared in terms of seismic energy dissipation and displacements diminution.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.18-25
• /
• 2020

Recently (2019), more than 3,800 schools have been closed in Korea due to the decrease in the number of students. Among them, 1,000 closed schools were used, 400 unused closed schools were sold, and the remaining 2,400 were sold. However, considering the absolute lack of elderly facilities due to the aging population, it seems necessary to recycle these public assets into elderly facilities. The purpose of this study is to explore the cases of remodeling closed schools in Japan and recycling them as elderly facilities, and to find ways to resolve the very serious shortage of elderly facilities while seeking measures to closed schools in Korea. The results of this study are summarized as follows: 1) In the case of Shinagawa in Tokyo, it was easy to change its use because the building was owned by the old district. 2) The existing classroom space was used as it was to create an elderly living space consisting of two or three rooms and one bathroom unit. 3) In case 2, even if the earthquake-resistant structure was reinforced, the overall construction cost was reduced by 30% compared to the new construction.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.1-26
• /
• 2015

Minimizing construction cost and reducing seismic damage are two conflicting objectives in the design of any new structure. In the present work, we try to develop a framework in order to solve the optimum performance-based design problem considering the construction cost and the seismic damage of steel moment-frame structures. The Park-Ang damage index is selected as the seismic damage measure because it is one of the most realistic measures of structural damage. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is employed as the optimization algorithm to search the Pareto optimal solutions. To improve the time efficiency of the proposed framework, three simplifying strategies are adopted: first, simplified nonlinear modeling investigating minimum level of structural modeling sophistication; second, fitness approximation decreasing the number of fitness function evaluations; third, wavelet decomposition of earthquake record decreasing the number of acceleration points involved in time-history loading. The constraints of the optimization problem are considered in accordance with Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) recommended seismic design specifications. The results from numerical application of the proposed framework demonstrate the efficiency of the framework in solving the present multi-objective optimization problem.