• 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.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.171-180
• /
• 2016

Earthquake event keeps increasing every year, and the recent cases of earthquake hazards invoke the necessity of seismic study in Korea, as geotechnical earthquake hazards, such as strong ground motion, liquefaction and landslides, are a significant threat to structures in industrial hub areas including coastal facilities. In this study, systemized framework of integrated assessment of earthquake-induced geotechnical hazard was established using advanced geospatial database. And a visible simulation of the framework was specifically conducted at two coastal facility areas in Incheon. First, the geospatial-grid information in the 3D domain were constructed with geostatistical interpolation method composed of multiple geospatial coverage mapping and 3D integration of geo-layer construction considering spatial outliers and geotechnical uncertainty. Second, the behavior of site-specific seismic responses were assessed by incorporating the depth to bedrock, mean shear wave velocity of the upper 30 m, and characteristic site period based on the geospatial-grid. Third, the normalized correlations between rock-outcrop accelerations and the maximum accelerations of each grid were determined considering the site-specific seismic response characteristics. Fourth, the potential damage due to liquefaction was estimated by combining the geospatial-grid and accelerations correlation grid based on the simplified liquefaction potential index evaluation method.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.333-343
• /
• 2020

In the architectural design process, the selection and configuration of the structural system significantly affect the earthquake behaviours of the reinforced concrete buildings. The main purpose of this study, the effects on the earthquake performances and the rough construction cost of the buildings of the slab type in reinforced concrete buildings are to examine comparatively for different local soil classes. The results obtained from this study have been determined that the building model having slabs with beams is safer compared to other types of slabs, especially when considering the vertical bearing structural elements (columns). It also shows that other types of slab, except for slab with beams, reduce the earthquake performances of reinforced concrete buildings, increase the displacement values, 1st natural vibration period values and the cost of rough construction. This matter reveals that slab type is quite important and the preference of beamed slabs in reinforced concrete buildings to be constructed in earthquake zones would be more appropriate in terms of safety and cost.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.89-95
• /
• 2017

The cases of animals unusual behavior have been reported occasionally before a major disaster occurs. Could animals unusual behavior associated with a major disaster occurrence, if so, could we foreknow a disaster occurrence? The purpose of study is to quest an answer through literature reviews on the relation between animals unusual behavior and premonitory symptoms of an earthquake. These empirical studies are classified three parts according as methodological framework; statistical analysis, experimental analysis, observation analysis. The results are simply divided as two, 'animals unusual behavior may be seen as a precursor of pre-disaster phenomena' and 'difficult to see.' A number of studies have been performed abroad, however there is no one in Korea. Most of the studies point out common limitations-difficult to verify the reliability of data, accidentally get and fewer samples of data, difficulty of ensuring appropriate data, etc. That is why more related research with animals unusual behavior and disaster occurrence is needed to validate cause-and-effect relation of animal unusual behavior and pre-disaster phenomena.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.18-24
• /
• 2023

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, many reports and books that compiled testimonies of adult victims were published. Thus, refugee situations are well known, but information on the refugee situations of Japanese students is not. This is because what actions the students took and how they sought refuge from an earthquake or tsunami have not been fully recognized. The purpose of this study was to examine and analyze students' refuge behavior in the Great East Japan Earthquake and to predict the refuge behavior of students affected by future disasters. The results of the study showed that students passively acquired information about earthquakes and tsunamis and that their refuge behavior was highly dependent on adults. Immediately after an earthquake, people tended to protect themselves and stay in place until the shaking stopped. However, they tended to move to another place after the shaking occurred frequently. Students living on ria coastlines were likely to move to high places to escape the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis, whereas students living in plain regions were likely to move vertically to tall buildings, such as schools. As for the mode of movement to refugee shelters, the students arrived at the final refugee shelters in one move, and it is assumed that the refugee shelters should be decided in advance and the students should move there.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.29-44
• /
• 2013

Post earthquake fire (PEF) can lead to the collapse of buildings that are partially damaged in a prior ground-motion that occurred immediately before the fire. The majority of standards and codes for the design of structures against earthquake ignore the possibility of PEF and thus buildings designed with 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 Life-Safety performance level of structures designed to the ACI 318-08 code after they are subjected to two different earthquake levels with PGA of 0.35 g and 0.25 g. This is followed by a four-hour fire analysis of the weakened structure, from which the time it takes for the weakened structure to collapse is calculated. As a benchmark, the fire analysis is also performed for undamaged structure and before occurrence of earthquake. The results show that the vulnerability of structures increases dramatically when a previously damaged structure is exposed to PEF. The results also show the damaging effects of post earthquake fire are exacerbated when initiated from second and third floor. Whilst the investigation is for a certain class of structures (regular building, intermediate reinforced structure, 3 stories), the results confirm the need for the incorporation of post earthquake fire in the process of analysis and design and provides some quantitative measures on the level of associated effects.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.1001-1024
• /
• 2014

The size of spread footings was found to be unnecessarily large from some actual engineering practices constructed in Taiwan, due to the strict design provisions related to footing uplift. According to the earlier design code in Taiwan, the footing uplift involving separation of footing from subsoil was permitted to be only up to one-half of the foundation base area, as the applied moment reaches the value of plastic moment capacity of the column. The reason for this provision was that rocking of spread footings was not a favorable mechanism. However, recent research has indicated that rocking itself may not be detrimental to seismic performance and, in fact, may act as a form of seismic isolation mechanism. In order to clarify the effects of the relative strength between column and foundation on the rocking behavior of a column, six circular reinforced concrete (RC) columns were designed and constructed and a series of rocking experiments were performed. During the tests, columns rested on a rubber pad to allow rocking to take place. Experimental variables included the dimensions of the footings, the strength and ductility capacity of the columns and the intensity of the applied earthquake. Experimental data for the six circular RC columns subjected to quasi-static and pseudo-dynamic loading are presented. Results of each cyclic loading test are compared against the benchmark test with fixed-base conditions. By comparing the experimental responses of the specimens with different design details, a key parameter of rocking behavior related to footing size and column strength is identified. For a properly designed column with the parameter higher than 1, the beneficial effects of rocking in reducing ductility and the strength demand of columns is verified.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.53-62
• /
• 2002

Site soil condition affects significantly on the seismic response of a structure and is a critical factor for the performance based seismic design of a structure. In this paper, the effects of nonlinear soil properties on the elastic response spectra of a structure including the nonlinearity of a soil due to the earthquake excitation is investigated using one step finite element approach for the entire soil structure system and approximate linear iterative procedure to simulate the nonlinear soil behavior with the Ramberg-Osgood soil model. Studies were carried out for a linear SDOF system of a variable period with and without a pile group for the 1940 CI Centro earthquake recorded on ground rather than rock. The study results showed clearly that the effect of the nonlinear behavior of soft soil is very important on the elastic seismic response of a structure suggesting the necessity of the performance based seismic design.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.59-66
• /
• 2011

Lifeline Damages induced by earthquake loading brings not only a structure damage but the communication problems by the interruption of various energy utilities such as electric power, gas, and water resources. Earthquake loss estimation systems in USA and Japan, called as HAZUS (Hazard in US) and HERAS (Hazards Estimation and Restoration Aid System), respectively, have been established for the purpose of efficient responding to the earthquake hazard. Sufficient damage records are required to establish these systems. However, there are insufficient data set of damage records obtained from previous earthquakes in Korea. In this study, according to the construction specifications of the pipelines in both Korea and USA, the behavior of both ductile and brittle pipelines embedded in dense sand overlying various soils, such as clay, sand, and gravel were examined with respect to the pipeline characteristics under various earthquake loadings. The applicability of pipeline damage prediction used in HAZUS program to Korea has been investigated.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.261-266
• /
• 2021

Nuclear power plants in Korea were designed and evaluated based on the NRC's Regulatory Guide 1.60, a design response spectrum for nuclear power plants. However, it can be seen that the seismic motion characteristics are different when analyzing the Gyeongju earthquake and the Pohang earthquake that has recently occurred in Korea. Compared to the design response spectrum, seismic motion characteristics in Korea have a larger spectral acceleration in the high-frequency region. Therefore, in the case of equipment with a high natural frequency installed in a nuclear power plant, seismic performance may be reduced by reflecting the characteristics of domestic seismic motions. The failure modes of the equipment are typically structural failure and functional failure, with an anchorage failure being a representative type of structural failure. In this study, comparative analyses were performed to decide whether to consider the inelastic behavior of the anchorage or not. As a result, it was confirmed that the seismic performance of the anchorages could be increased by considering the inelastic behavior of an anchorage.