• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.19-26
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• 2012

For a seismic design or performance evaluation of a structure, an experimental investigation on a scale model of the structure or numerical analysis based on the finite element model is considered. Regarding the numerical analysis, a three-dimensional finite element analysis is performed if a high accuracy of the results is required, while a sensitivity or fragility analysis which uses huge seismic ground motions leads to the use of a lumped-mass stick model. The conventional modeling technique to build the lumped-mass stick model calculates the amount of the lumped mass by considering the geometric shape of the structure, like a tributary area. However, the eigenvalues of the conventional model obtained through such a calculation are normally not the same as those of the actual structure. In order to overcome such a deficiency, in this study, a new lumped mass stick model is proposed. The model is named the "frequency adaptive-lumped-mass stick model." It provides the same eigenvalues and similar dynamic responses as the actual structure. A non-prismatic column is considered as an example, and its natural frequencies as well as the dynamic performance of the new lumped model are compared to those of the full-finite element model. To investigate the damping effect on the new model, 1% to 5% of the critical damping ratio is applied to the model and the corresponding results are also compared to those of the finite element model.