• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.113-132
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• 1999

Recently in Korea, application of the soil nailing is gradually extended to the sites of excavations and slopes having various ground conditions and field characteristics. Design of the soil nailing is generally carried out in two steps, The First step is to examine the minimum safety factor against a sliding of the reinforced nailed-soil mass based on the limit equilibrium approach, and the second step is to check the maximum displacement expected to occur at facing using the numerical analysis technique. However, design parameters related to the soil nailing system are so various that a reliable design method considering interrelationships between these design parameters is continuously necessary. Additionally, taking into account the anisotropic characteristics of in-situ grounds, disturbances in collecting the soil samples and errors in measurements, a systematic analysis of the field measurement data as well as a rational technique of the optimum design is required to improve with respect to economical efficiency. As a part of these purposes, in the present study, a procedure for the optimum design of a soil nailing excavation wall system is proposed. Focusing on a minimization of the expenses in construction, the optimum design procedure is formulated based on the genetic algorithm. Neural network theory is further adopted in predicting the maximum horizontal displacement at a shotcrete facing. Using the proposed procedure, various effects of relevant design parameters are also analyzed. Finally, an optimized design section is compared with the existing design section at the excavation site being constructed, in order to verify a validity of the proposed procedure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.373-384
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• 2022

To improve the seismic performance of suspended ceiling structures, various vibration-damping devices have been developed. However, the devices made of metals have a limit in that they cause large deformation and seriously damages the exterior of the suspended ceiling structure from the wall. As a results, their strengthening effect of the suspended ceiling structure was minimal. Thus, this study employed a spring and vibration-proof rubber effectively controlled vibrations without increasing horizontal seismic loads on the ceiling to enhance the seismic resistance of suspended ceiling structures. The objective of the study is to examine the dynamic properties of a seismic damping-isolation unit (SDI) with various details developed. The developed SDI was composed of a spring, embossed rubbers, and prestressed bolts, which were the main factors enhancing the damping effect. The shaking table tests were performed on eight SDI specimens produced with the number of layers of embossed rubber (n_s), presence or absence of a spring, prestressed force magnitude introduced in bolts (f_ps), and mass weight (W_m) as the main parameters. To identify the enhancement effect of the SDI, the dynamic properties of the control specimen with a conventional hanger bolt were compared to those of the SDI specimens. The SDI specimens were effective in reducing the maximum acceleration (A_{c max}), acceleration amplification factor (α_p), relative displacement (δ_R), and increasing the damping ratio (ξ) when compared to the control specimen. The A_{c max}, α_p, and δ_R of the SDI specimens with two rubbers, spring, and f_ps of 0.1f_by, where f_by is the yielding strength of the screw bolt were 57.8%, 58.0%, and 61.9% lower than those of the conventional hanger bolt specimens, respectively, resulting in the highest ξ (=0.127). In addition, the α_p of the SDI specimens was 50.8% lower than those specified in ASCE 7 and FEMA 356. Consequently, to accurately estimate the α_p of the SDI specimens, a simple model was proposed based on the functions of f_ps, stiffness constant of the spring (K), W_m, and n_s.