• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.765-779
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• 2020

Collapse of bridges in recent earthquakes demonstrates the need to deepen the understanding of the behaviour of these structures against seismic actions. This paper presents a highly detailed numerical model of an actual bridge subjected to extreme seismic action which results in its collapse. Normally, nonlinear numerical models have high difficulties to achieve convergence when reinforced concrete is intended to be represented. The main objective of this work is to determine the efficiency of different passive control strategies to prevent the structural collapse of an existing bridge. Metallic dampers and seismic isolation by decoupling the mass were evaluated. The response is evaluated not only in terms of reduction of displacements, but also in increasing of shear force and axial force in key elements, which can be a negative characteristic of the systems studied. It can be concluded that the use of a metallic damper significantly reduces the horizontal displacements and ensures the integrity of the structure from extreme seismic actions. Moreover, the isolation of the deck, which in principle seems to be the most effective solution to protect existing bridges, proves inadequate for the case analysed due to its dynamic characteristics and its particular geometry and an unpredictable type of axial pounding in the columns. This unexpected effect on the isolation system would have been impossible to identify with simplified models.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.417-431
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• 2024

The fundamental period of vibration is one of the most critical parameters in the analysis and design of structures, as it depends on the distribution of stiffness and mass within the structure. Therefore, building codes propose empirical equations based on the observed periods of actual buildings during seismic events and ambient vibration tests. However, despite the fact that infill walls increase the stiffness and mass of the structure, causing significant changes in the fundamental period, most of these equations do not account for the presence of infills walls in the structure. Typically, these equations are dependent on both the structural system type and building height. The different values between the empirical and analytical periods are due to the elimination of non-structural effects in the analytical methods. Therefore, the presence of non-structural elements, such as infill panels, should be carefully considered. Another critical factor influencing the fundamental period is the effect of Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI). Most seismic building design codes generally consider SSI to be beneficial to the structural system under seismic loading, as it increases the fundamental period and leads to higher damping of the system. Recent case studies and postseismic observations suggest that SSI can have detrimental effects, and neglecting its impact could lead to unsafe design, especially for structures located on soft soil. The current research focuses on investigating the effect of infill panels on the fundamental period of moment-resisting and eccentrically braced steel frames while considering the influence of soil-structure interaction. To achieve this, the effects of building height, infill wall stiffness, infill openings and soil structure interactions were studied using 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18-story 3-D frames. These frames were modeled and analyzed using SeismoStruct software. The calculated values of the fundamental period were then compared with those obtained from the proposed equation in the seismic code. The results indicate that changing the number of stories and the soil type significantly affects the fundamental period of structures. Moreover, as the percentage of infill openings increases, the fundamental period of the structure increases almost linearly. Additionally, soil-structure interaction strongly affects the fundamental periods of structures, especially for more flexible soils. This effect is more pronounced when the infill wall stiffness is higher. In conclusion, new equations are proposed for predicting the fundamental periods of Moment Resisting Frame (MRF) and Eccentrically Braced Frame (EBF) buildings. These equations are functions of various parameters, including building height, modulus of elasticity, infill wall thickness, infill wall percentage, and soil types.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1746-1754
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• 2016

Recently, spherical beads entrapping quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria have been reported as effective moving QQ-media for biofouling control in MBRs for wastewater treatment owing to their combined effects of biological (i.e., quorum quenching) and physical washing. Taking into account both the mass transfer of signal molecules through the QQ-medium and collision efficiencies of the QQ-medium against the filtration membranes in a bioreactor, a cylindrical medium (QQ-cylinder) was developed as a new shape of moving QQ-medium. The QQ-cylinders were compared with previous QQ-beads in terms of the QQ activity and the physical washing effect under identical loading volumes of each medium in batch tests. It was found that the QQ activity of a QQ-medium was highly dependent on its specific surface area, regardless of the shape of the medium. In contrast, the physical washing effect of a QQ-medium was greatly affected by its geometric structure. The enhanced anti-biofouling property of the QQ-cylinders relative to QQ-beads was confirmed in a continuous laboratory-scale MBR with a flat-sheet membrane module.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.161-176
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• 1999

A powerful numerical method that can be used for modeling rock-structure interaction is the Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (D D A) method developed by Shi in 1988. In this method, rock masses are treated as systems of finite and deformable blocks. Large rock mass deformations and block movements are allowed. Although various extensions of the D D A method have been proposed in the literature, the method is not capable of modeling water-block interaction, sequential loading or unloading and rock reinforcement; three features that are needed when modeling surface or underground excavation in fractured rock. This paper presents three new extensions to the D D A method. The extensions consist of hydro-mechanical coupling between rock blocks and steady water flow in fractures, sequential loading or unloading, and rock reinforcement by rockbolts, shotcrete or concrete lining. Examples of application of the D D A method with the new extensions are presented. Simulations of the underground excavation of the \ulcornerUnju Tunnel\ulcorner in Korea were carried out to evaluate the influence of fracture flow, excavation sequence and reinforcement on the tunnel stability. The results of the present study indicate that fracture flow and improper selection of excavation sequence could have a destabilizing effect on the tunnel stability. On the other hand, reinforcement by rockbolts and shotcrete can stabilize the tunnel. It is found that, in general, the D D A program with the three new extensions can now be used as a practical tool in the design of underground structures. In particular, phases of construction (excavation, reinforcement) can now be simulated more realistically.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 1998

The magnitudes of historical earthquake records related with house collapses are estimated considering the magnitude, epicentral distance, soil condition and aging of a house. Eighteen artificial time histories for magnitudes 6-8, epicentral distances 5 km-350 km and hard and soft soil condition were generated. Nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed for a traditional three-bay-straw-roof house. The aging effect of the house was modeled as such that the lateral loading capacity of wooden frames represented by hysteretic stiffness was decreased linearly with time. The house was idealized by one degree-of-freedom lumped mass model and the nonlinear characteristics of wooden frames were modeled by the Modified Double-Target mode. For far field earthquakes, minor damages were identified regardless of magnitude, soil condition and aging of the house. For intermediate field earthquake, earthquake magnitude greater than 6.5 caused severe damages in soil sites. For near field earthquake, severe damages occurred for magnitude greater than 6.5 regardless of soil condition and aging of the house. It is estimated that the magnitude of historical earthquakes is about 6.2. An empirical equation of magnitude-intensity relationship suitable to Korea is suggested.

• Journal of KSNVE
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.600-606
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• 1999

A reactive type acoustic filter is developed based on the phase cancellation effect which is occurring in the plane wave propagation through the two paths where the cross sectional areas are reversely changing. The theory is experimentally validated by the use of a cylindrical duct and an inserted hollowed cone of which vertex part is eliminated. Noise attenuation and the filtered frequency are dependent on the area variation and the effective length of the filter. Experimental comparison shows that the filtered frequencies of 1st and 2nd mode are lower than the analytical prediction due to the mass loading effects, and the 3rd mode is in good agreement. The proposed filter can be applied as an in-duct noise filter for improving the sound quality in a narrow space for various industrial applications.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.471-491
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• 2016

Traditional limit equilibrium method needs an assumption of the failure surface to calculate the bearing capapcity of the shallow foundation. From the viewpoint of the mechanics of granular materials, however, the failure of the soil mass is initated by the local buckling of the contact force chains. In this study we observed the directional distribution of the contact force chains in the granular assembly stacked by model particles subjected to the model shallow foundation during loading. Two sets of the assemblies with a regular structure and initially local imperfection were prepared for tests. Existence of the initial local imperfection has a significant effect on the directional distribution of the contact force chains. The bearing capacity of the assembly with local imperfection is only 67% the capacity of the assembly with the regular structure.

• Composites Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.18-24
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• 2003

Sandwich structures have been widely used in the applications of vessel industry, where high structural stiffness is required with small addition of weight. It is so significant to think of the effect of the variables in the design process of the sandwich structure for the concentrated loads. This paper describes the influence of design variables, such as core density, core thickness and face thickness ratio, on the strength of sandwich beam. The theoretical failure loads based on the 2-D elasticity theory agree well with the experimental yield or failure loads, which are measured at the three point bending laboratory test using AS4/3501-6 facing and polyurethane foam core sandwich beam. The comparison of those yield or failure loads was also done with the ratio of the top to bottom face thickness. The theoretical optimum condition is obtained by finding the intersection point of failure modes involved, which gives optimum core density of the sandwich beam for strength and stiffness. In the addition, the effect of unequal face thickness for the optimized and off-optimized sandwich beams for the strength was compared with the ratio of loading length to beam length, and the variations of strength and stiffness were discussed with the relative ratio of core to face mass.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.345-354
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• 2018

Currently, layered geogrid method (LGM) is the commonly practiced technique for reinforcement of slopes. In this paper the geogrid-box method (GBM) is introduced as a new approach for reinforcement of rock-soil slopes. To achieve the objectives of this study, a laboratory setup was designed and the slopes without reinforcements and reinforced with LGM and GBM were tested under the loading of a circular footing. The effect of vertical spacing between geogrid layers and box thickness on normalized bearing capacity and failure mechanism of slopes was investigated. A series of 3D finite element analysis were also performed using ABAQUS software to supplement the results of the model tests. The results indicated that the load-settlement behavior and the ultimate bearing capacity of footing can be significantly improved by the inclusion of reinforcing geogrid in the soil. It was found that for the slopes reinforced with GBM, the displacement contours are widely distributed in the rock-soil mass underneath the footing in greater width and depth than that in the reinforced slope with LGM, which in turn results in higher bearing capacity. It was also established that by reducing the thickness of geogrid-boxes, the distribution and depth of displacement contours increases and a longer failure surface is developed, which suggests the enhanced bearing capacity of the slope. Based on the studied designs, the ultimate bearing capacity of the GBM-reinforced slope was found to be 11.16% higher than that of the slope reinforced with LGM. The results also indicated that, reinforcement of rock-soil slopes using GBM causes an improvement in the ultimate bearing capacity as high as 24.8 times more than that of the unreinforced slope.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.117-133
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• 2022

Determination of the mechanical behaviour of jointed rock masses has been a challenge for rock engineers for decades. This problem is more pronounced for non-persistent jointed rock masses due to complicated interaction of rock bridges on the overall behaviour. This paper aims to study the effect of a non-persistent joint set configuration on the mechanical behaviour of rock materials under both uniaxial and biaxial compression tests using a discrete element code. The numerical simulation of biaxial compressive strength of rock masses has been challenging in the past due to shortcomings of bonded particle models in reproducing the failure envelope of rock materials. This problem was resolved in this study by employing the flat-joint contact model. The validity of the numerical model was investigated through a comprehensive comparative study against physical uniaxial and biaxial compression experiments. Good agreement was found between numerical and experimental tests in terms of the recorded peak strength and the failure mode in both loading conditions. Studies on the effect of joint orientation on the failure mode showed that four zones of intact, transition to block rotation, block rotation and transition to intact failure occurs when the joint dip angle varies from 0° to 90°. It was found that the applied confining stress can significantly alter the range of these zones. It was observed that the minimum strength occurs at the joint dip angle of around 45 degrees under different confining stresses. It was also found that the joint orientation can alter the post peak behaviour and the lowest brittleness was observed at the block rotation zone.