• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.53-64
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• 2010

Seismic fragility curves of structures represent the probability of exceeding the prescribed structural damage state for a given various levels of ground motion intensity, such as peak ground acceleration (PGA). This means that seismic fragility curves are essential to the evaluation of structural seismic performance and assessments of risk. Most of existing studies have not considered the near- and far-fault earthquake effect on the seismic fragility curves. In order to evaluate the effect of near- and far-fault earthquakes, seismic fragility curves for PSC box girder bridges subjected to near- and far-fault earthquakes are calculated and compared. The seismic fragility curves are strongly dependent on the earthquake characteristics such as fault distance. This paper suggests that the effect of near- and far-fault earthquakes on seismic fragility curves of PSC box girder bridge structure should be considered.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.95-101
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• 2021

In this study, we present how to improve the current seismic disaster information service by utilizing Shake, which can express the effects of earthquakes in the form of isolines. Using ShakeMap software provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, an automated rapid ShakeMap generation system was implemented, and based on this, an earthquake disaster information service improvement model was presented to identify earthquake risk in the form of intensity or peak ground acceleration. In order to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the improved model, the seismic disaster information service app. was developed and operated on a trial basis in Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do. As a result of the operation, it was found that more detailed seismic risk information could be provided by providing information using rapid ShakeMap to induce users' safety behavior more effectively.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.13-36
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• 2023

The Puebla-Morelos Earthquake (Mw 7.1) occurred in Mexico in 2017 causing 44 buildings to collapse in Mexico City. This work evaluates the non-linear response of a 6-story reinforced concrete (RC) frame prototype model with masonry infill walls on upper floors. The prototype model was designed using provisions prescribed before 1985 and was subjected to seismic excitations recorded during the earthquakes of 1985 and 2017 in different places in Mexico City. The building response was assessed through a damage index (DI) that considers low-cycle fatigue of the steel reinforcement in columns of the first floor, where the steel was modeled including buckling as was observed in cases after the 2017 earthquake. Isocurves were generated with 72 seismic records in Mexico City representing the level of iso-demand on the structure. These isocurves were compared with the location of 16 collapsed (first-floor column failure) building cases consistent with the prototype model. The isocurves for a value greater than 1 demarcate the location where fatigue failure was expected, which is consistent with the location of 2 of the 16 cases studied. However, a slight increase in axial load (5%) or decrease in column cross-section (5%) had a significant detrimental effect on the cumulated damage, increasing the intensity of the isocurves and achieving congruence with 9 of the 16 cases, and having the other 7 cases less than 2 km away. Including column special detailing (tight stirrup spacing and confined concrete) was the variable with the greatest impact to control the cumulated damage, which was consistent with the absence of severe damage in buildings built in the 70s and 80s.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.131-147
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• 2024

Damage caused by an earthquake depends on not just the intensity of an earthquake but also the region-specific construction practices. Past earthquakes in Asian countries have highlighted inadequate construction practices, which caused huge life and property losses, indicating the severe need to strengthen existing structures. Strengthening activities shall be proposed as per the proposed weighting factors, first at the higher weighted members to increase the capacity of the building immediately and thereafter, the other members. Through this study on gravity load-designed (GLD) buildings, relative weights are assigned to each storey and exterior and interior columns within a storey based on their contribution to the energy dissipation capacity of the building. The numerical study is conducted on mid-rise archetype GLD buildings, i.e., 4, 6, 8, and 10 stories with variable storey heights, in the high seismic zones. Non-linear static analysis is performed to compute weights based on energy dissipation capacities. The results obtained are verified with the non-linear time history analysis of 4 GLD buildings. It was observed that exterior columns have higher weightage in the energy dissipation capacity of the building than interior columns up to a certain building height. The damage in stories is distributed in a convex to concave parabolic shape from bottom to top as building height increases, and the maxima location of the parabola shifts from bottom to middle stories. Relative weighting factors are assigned as per the damage contribution. And the sequence for strengthening activities is proposed as per the computed weighting factors in descending order for regular RCC buildings. Therefore, proposals made in the study would increase the efficacy of strengthening activities.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.365-384
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• 2014

The intensity of a ground motion can be measured by a number of parameters, some of which might exhibit robust correlations with the damage of structures subjected to that motion. In this study, 204 near-fault pulse-type records are selected and their seismic parameters are determined. Time history and damage analyses of a tested 3-storey reinforced concrete frame representing for low-rise reinforced concrete buildings subjected to those earthquake motions are performed after calibration and comparison with the available experimental results. The aim of this paper is to determine amongst several available seismic parameters, the ones that have strong correlations with the structural damage measured by a damage index and the maximum inter-story drift. The results show that Velocity Spectrum Intensity is the leading parameter demonstrating the best correlation, followed by Housner Intensity, Spectral Acceleration and Spectral Displacement. These seismic parameters are recommended as reliable parameters of near-fault pulse-type motions related to damage potential of low-rise reinforced concrete structures. The results also reaffirm that the conventional and widely used parameter of Peak Ground Acceleration does not exhibit a good correlation with the structural damage.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.215-227
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• 2018

Supplemental passive control devices are widely considered as an important tool to mitigate the dynamic response of a building under seismic excitation. Nevertheless, a systematic method for strategically placing dampers in the buildings is not prescribed in building codes and guidelines. Many deterministic and stochastic methods have been proposed by previous researchers to investigate the optimum distribution of the viscous dampers in the steel frames. However, the seismic performances of the retrofitted buildings that are under large earthquake intensity levels or near collapse state have not been evaluated by any seismic research. Recent years, an increasing number of studies utilize genetic algorithms (GA) to explore the complex engineering optimization problems. GA interfaced with nonlinear response history (NRH) analysis is considered as one of the most powerful and popular stochastic methods to deal with the nonlinear optimization problem of damper distribution. In this paper, the effectiveness and the efficiency of GA on optimizing damper distribution are first evaluated by strong ground motions associated with the collapse failure. A practical optimization framework using GA and NRH analysis is proposed for optimizing the distribution of the fluid viscous dampers within the moment resisting frames (MRF) regarding the improvements of large drifts under intensive seismic context. Both a 10-storey and a 20-storey building are involved to explore higher mode effect. A far-fault and a near-fault earthquake environment are also considered for the frames under different seismic intensity levels. To evaluate the improvements obtained from the GA optimization regarding the collapse performance of the buildings, Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) is conducted and comparisons are made between the GA damper distribution and stiffness proportional damping distribution on the collapse probability of the retrofitted frames.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.3 s.49
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• pp.1-11
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• 2006

This paper presents a seismic fragility analysis method for a cable-stayed bridge with energy dissipation devices. Model uncertainties represented by random variables include input ground motions, characteristics of energy dissipation devices and the stiffness of cable-stayed bridge. Using linear regression, we established demand models for the fragility analysis from the relationship between maximum responses and the intensity of input ground motions. For capacity models, we considered the moment and shear force of the main tower, longitudinal displacement of the girder, deviation of the stay cables tension and the local buckling of the main steel tower as the limit states for cable-stayed bridge. As a numerical example, fragility analysis results for the 2nd Jindo bridge are presented. The effect of energy dissipation devices is also briefly discussed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2696-2707
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of various structural modeling schemes for evaluating seismic performances and fragility of the reactor containment building (RCB) structure in the advanced power reactor 1400 (APR1400) nuclear power plant (NPP). Four structural modeling schemes, i.e. lumped-mass stick model (LMSM), solid-based finite element model (Solid FEM), multi-layer shell model (MLSM), and beam-truss model (BTM), are developed to simulate the seismic behaviors of the containment structure. A full three-dimensional finite element model (full 3D FEM) is additionally constructed to verify the previous numerical models. A set of input ground motions with response spectra matching to the US NRC 1.60 design spectrum is generated to perform linear and nonlinear time-history analyses. Floor response spectra (FRS) and floor displacements are obtained at the different elevations of the structure since they are critical outputs for evaluating the seismic vulnerability of RCB and secondary components. The results show that the difference in seismic responses between linear and nonlinear analyses gets larger as an earthquake intensity increases. It is observed that the linear analysis underestimates floor displacements while it overestimates floor accelerations. Moreover, a systematic assessment of the capability and efficiency of each structural model is presented thoroughly. MLSM can be an alternative approach to a full 3D FEM, which is complicated in modeling and extremely time-consuming in dynamic analyses. Specifically, BTM is recommended as the optimal model for evaluating the nonlinear seismic performance of NPP structures. Thereafter, linear and nonlinear BTM are employed in a series of time-history analyses to develop fragility curves of RCB for different damage states. It is shown that the linear analysis underestimates the probability of damage of RCB at a given earthquake intensity when compared to the nonlinear analysis. The nonlinear analysis approach is highly suggested for assessing the vulnerability of NPP structures.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.307-319
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• 2023

Ground fissures have a huge effect on the integrity of surface structures. In high-intensity ground fissure regions, however, land resource would be wasted and city building and economic development would be limited if the area avoiding principle was used. In view of this challenge, to reveal the seismic response and seismic failure characteristics of ground fissure sites, a shaking table test on model soil based on a 1:15 scale experiment was carried out. In the test, the spatial distribution characteristics of acceleration response and Arias intensity were obtained for a site exposed to earthquakes with different characteristics. Furthermore, the failure characteristics and damage evolution of the model soil were analyzed. The test results indicated that, with the increase in the earthquake acceleration magnitude, the crack width of the ground fissure enlarged from 0 to 5 mm. The soil of the hanging wall was characterized by earlier cracking and a higher abundance of secondary fissures at 45°. Under strong earthquakes, the model soil, especially the soil near the ground fissure, was severely damaged and exhibited reduced stiffness. As a result, its natural frequency also decreased from 11.41 Hz to 8.05 Hz, whereas the damping ratio increased from 4.8% to 9.1%. Due to the existence of ground fissure, the acceleration was amplified to nearly 0.476 m/s², as high as 2.38 times of the input acceleration magnitude. The maximum of acceleration and Arias intensity appeared at the fissure zone, which decreased from the main fissure toward both sides, showing hanging wall effects. The seismic intensity, duration and frequency spectrum all had certain effects on the seismic response of the ground fissure site, but their influence degrees were different. The seismic response of the site induced by the seismic wave that had richer low-frequency components and longer duration was larger. The discrepancies of seismic response between the hanging wall and the footwall declined obviously when the magnitude of the earthquake acceleration increased. The research results will be propitious to enhancing the utilizing ratio of the limited landing resource, alleviation of property damages and casualties, and provide a good engineering application foreground.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.609-623
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• 2022

To study the empirical seismic fragility of a reinforced concrete girder bridge, based on the theory of numerical analysis and probability modelling, a regression fragility method of a rapid fragility prediction model (Gaussian first-order regression probability model) considering empirical seismic damage is proposed. A total of 1,069 reinforced concrete girder bridges of 22 highways were used to verify the model, and the vulnerability function, plane, surface and curve model of reinforced concrete girder bridges (simple supported girder bridges and continuous girder bridges) considering the number of samples in multiple intensity regions were established. The new empirical seismic damage probability matrix and curve models of observation frequency and damage exceeding probability are developed in multiple intensity regions. A comparative vulnerability analysis between simple supported girder bridges and continuous girder bridges is provided. Depending on the theory of the regional mean seismic damage index matrix model, the empirical seismic damage prediction probability matrix is embedded in the multidimensional mean seismic damage index matrix model, and the regional rapid prediction matrix and curve of reinforced concrete girder bridges, simple supported girder bridges and continuous girder bridges in multiple intensity regions based on mean seismic damage index parameters are developed. The established multidimensional group bridge vulnerability model can be used to quantify and predict the fragility of bridges in multiple intensity regions and the fragility assessment of regional group reinforced concrete girder bridges in the future.