• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.563-573
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• 2019

When generating spectrum-compatible artificial ground motion in engineering practices, the effect of the variation in fitting parameters on the distribution of the peak ground displacement (PGD) has not yet drawn enough attention. In this study, a method for simulating ground motion matching for multiple targets is developed. In this method, a frequency-dependent amplitude envelope function with statistical parameters is introduced to simulate the nonstationarity of the frequency in earthquake ground motion. Then, several groups of time-history acceleration with different temporal and spectral nonstationarities were generated to analyze the effect of nonstationary parameter variations on the distribution of PGD. The following conclusions are drawn from the results: (1) In the simulation of spectrum-compatible artificial ground motion, if the acceleration time-history is generated with random initial phases, the corresponding PGD distribution is quite discrete and an uncertain number of PGD values lower than the limit value are observed. Nevertheless, the mean values of PGD always meet the requirement in every group. (2) If the nonstationary frequencies of the ground motion are taken into account when fitting the target spectrum, the corresponding PGD values will increase. A correlation analysis shows that the change in the mean and the dispersion values, from before the frequencies are controlled to after, correlates with the modal parameters of the predominant frequencies. (3) Extending the maximum period of the target spectrum will increase the corresponding PGD value and, simultaneously, decrease the PGD dispersion. Finally, in order to control the PGD effectively, the ground motion simulation method suggested in this study was revised to target a specified PGD. This novel method can generate ground motion that satisfies not only the required precision of the target spectrum, peak ground acceleration (PGA), and nonstationarity characteristics of the ground motion but also meets the required limit of the PGD, improving engineering practices.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.77-86
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• 2020

In this study, the importance of implied strength correction for shallow depths at a region of moderate to low seismicity with primary focus on its effect upon site natural period and mean period of the ground motion is investigated. In addition to the most commonly used Modified Kondner-Zelasko (MKZ) model, this paper uses a quadratic/hyperbolic (GQ/H) model that can capture the stress - strain response at large strains as well as small strain stiffness dependence. A total of six site profiles by downhole tests are used and 1D site response analyses are performed using three input motions with contrasting mean periods. The difference between non-corrected and corrected analyses is conditional on the site period as well as mean ground motion period. The effect of periods is analyzed by correlating them with the effective peak ground acceleration, maximum shear strains and amplification factors. The comparative study reveals that the difference is more prominent in soft sites with long site periods. Insignificant differences are observed when soil profiles are subjected to ground motion with very short mean period.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.115-128
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• 2022

One common method to select input ground motions to predict dynamic behavior of structures subjected to seismic excitation requires spectral acceleration (S_a) match target mean response spectrum. However, dispersion of ground motions, which explicitly affects the structural response, is rarely discussed in this method. Generally, selecting ground motions matching target mean and variance has been utilized as an appropriate method to predict reliable seismic response. The goal of this paper is to investigate the impact of target spectra variance of ground motions on structural seismic response. Two sets of ground motions with different target variances (zero variance and minimum variance larger than inherent variance of the target spectrum) are selected as input to two different structures. Structural responses at different heights are compared, in terms of peak, mean and dispersion. Results show that increase of target spectra variance tends to increase peak floor acceleration, peak deformation and dispersions of response of interest remarkably. To short-period structures, dispersion increase ratios of seismic response are close to that of S_a of input ground motions at the first period. To long-period structures, dispersions of floor acceleration and floor response spectra increase more significantly at the bottom, while dispersion increase ratios of IDR and deformation are close to that of S_a of input ground motions at the first period. This study could further provide useful information on selecting appropriate ground motion to predict seismic behavior of different types of structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.141-157
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• 2014

The Conditional Mean Spectrum represents a powerful link between the seismic hazard information and the selection of strong ground motion records at a particular site. The scope of the paper is to apply for the city of Bucharest for the first time the method to obtain the Conditional Mean Spectrum (CMS) presented by Baker (2011) and to select, on the basis of the CMS, a suite of strong ground motions for performing elastic and inelastic dynamic analyses of buildings and structures with fundamental periods of vibration in the vicinity of 1.0 s. The major seismic hazard for Bucharest and for most of Southern and Eastern Romania is dominated by the Vrancea subcrustal seismic source. The ground motion prediction equation developed for subduction-type earthquakes and soil conditions by Youngs et al. (1997) is used for the computation of the Uniform Hazard Spectrum (UHS) and the CMS. The disaggregation of seismic hazard is then performed in order to determine the mean causal values of magnitude and source-to-site distance for a particular spectral ordinate (for a spectral period T = 1.0 s in this study). The spectral period of 1.0 s is considered to be representative for the new stock of residential and office reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Bucharest. The differences between the Uniform Hazard Spectrum (UHS) and the Conditional Mean Spectrum (CMS) are discussed taking into account the scarcity of ground motions recorded in the region of Bucharest and the frequency content characteristics of the recorded data. Moreover, a record selection based on the criteria proposed by Baker and Cornell (2006) and Baker (2011) is performed using a dataset consisting of strong ground motions recorded during seven Vrancea seismic events.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.6
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• pp.869-887
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• 2012

Ground motion scaling techniques are actively debated in the earthquake engineering community. Considerations such as what amplitude, over what period range and to what target spectrum are amongst the questions of practical importance. In this paper, the effect of various ground motion scaling approaches are explored using three reinforced concrete prototypical building models of 8, 12 and 20 stories designed to respond nonlinearly under a design level earthquake event in the seismically active Southern California region. Twenty-one recorded earthquake motions are selected using a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and subsequently scaled using four different strategies. These motions are subsequently compared to spectrally compatible motions. The nonlinear response of a planar frameidealized building is evaluated in terms of plasticity distribution, floor level acceleration and uncorrelated acceleration amplification ratio distributions; and interstory drift distributions. The most pronounced response variability observed in association with the scaling method is the extent of higher mode participation in the nonlinear demands.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.125-132
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• 2006

To estimate the local site effects at two town fortress areas where stone parapets were collapsed during historical earthquakes, site characteristics were evaluated using borehole drillings and seismic tests and equivalent-linear site response analyses were conducted based on the shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles determined from site investigations. The study sites are categorized as site classes C and B according to the mean Vs to 30 m ranging from 500 to 850 m/s, and their site periods are distributed in short period range of 0.06 to 0.16 sec. For site class C in the study areas, the short-period (0.1-0.5 sec) and mid-period (0.4-2.0 sec) site coefficients, $F_{\alpha}$ and $F_\nu$ specified in the Korean seismic design guide, underestimate the ground motion in short-period band and overestimate the ground motion in mid-period band, respectively, due to the characteristics showing high amplification in short period range, which can result in the collapse of stone parapets having the short natural period.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.269-277
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• 2019

In a seismic design, a structural demand by an earthquake load is determined by design response spectra. The ground motion is a three-dimensional movement; therefore, the design response spectra in each direction need to be assigned. However, in most design codes, an identical design response spectrum is used in two horizontal directions. Unlike these design criteria, a realistic seismic input motion should be applied for a seismic evaluation of structures. In this study, the definition of horizontal spectral acceleration representing the two-horizontal spectral acceleration is reviewed. Based on these methodologies, the horizontal responses of observed ground motions are calculated. The data used in the analysis are recorded accelerograms at the stations near the epicenters of recent earthquakes which are the 2007 Odeasan earthquake, 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, and 2017 Pohang earthquake. Geometric mean-based horizontal response spectra and maximum directional response spectrum are evaluated and their differences are compared over the period range. Statistical representation of the relations between geometric mean and maximum directional spectral acceleration for horizontal direction and spectral acceleration for vertical direction are also evaluated. Finally, discussions and suggestions to consider these different two horizontal directional spectral accelerations in the seismic performance evaluation are presented.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.90-101
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• 2005

For the site characterization at two representative inland areas, Gyeongju and Hongsung, in Korea, in-situ seismic tests containing boring investigations and resonant column tests were performed and site-specific ground response analyses were conducted using equivalent linear as well as nonlinear scheme. The soil deposits in Korea were shallower and stiffer than those in the western US, from which the site classification system and site coefficients in Korea were derived. Most sites were categorized as site classes C and D based on the mean shear wave velocity to 30 m, Vs30 ranging between 250 and 650 m/s. Based on the acceleration response spectra determined from the site-specific analyses, the site coefficients specified in the Korean seismic design guide underestimate the ground motion in the short-period band and overestimate the ground motion in mid-period band. These differences can be explained by the differences in the bedrock depth and the soil stiffness profile between Korea and western US. The site coefficients were re-evaluated and the preliminary site classification system was introduced accounting for the local geologic conditions on the Korean peninsula.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.13-23
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• 2007

This paper focuses on providing a practical approach for decision making in Performance-Based Design (PBD). Satisfactory performance is defined by several performance objectives that place limits on direct (monetary) loss and on a tolerable probability of collapse. No specific limits are placed on conventional engineering parameters such as forces or deformations, although it is assumed that sound capacity design principles are followed in the design process. The proposed design procedure incorporates different performance objectives up front, before the structural system is created, and assists engineers in making informed decisions on the choice of an effective structural system and its stiffness (period), base shear strength, and other important global structural parameters. The tools needed to implement this design process are (1) hazard curves for a specific ground motion intensity measure, (2) mean loss curves for structural and nonstructural subsystems, (3) structural response curves that relate, for different structural systems, a ground motion intensity measure to the engineering demand parameter (e.g., interstory drift or floor acceleration) on which the subsystem loss depends, and (4) collapse fragility curves. Since the proposed procedure facilitates decision making in the conceptual design process, it is referred to as a Design Decision Support System, DDSS. Implementation of the DDSS is illustrated in an example to demonstrate its practicality.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.4179-4188
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• 2021

This study identifies efficient earthquake intensity measures (IMs) for seismic performances and fragility evaluations of the reactor containment building (RCB) in the advanced power reactor 1400 (APR1400) nuclear power plant (NPP). The computational model of RCB is constructed using the beam-truss model (BTM) for nonlinear analyses. A total of 90 ground motion records and 20 different IMs are employed for numerical analyses. A series of nonlinear time-history analyses are performed to monitor maximum floor displacements and accelerations of RCB. Then, probabilistic seismic demand models of RCB are developed for each IM. Statistical parameters including coefficient of determination (R²), dispersion (i.e. standard deviation), practicality, and proficiency are calculated to recognize strongly correlated IMs with the seismic performance of the NPP structure. The numerical results show that the optimal IMs are spectral acceleration, spectral velocity, spectral displacement at the fundamental period, acceleration spectrum intensity, effective peak acceleration, peak ground acceleration, A95, and sustained maximum acceleration. Moreover, weakly related IMs to the seismic performance of RCB are peak ground displacement, root-mean-square of displacement, specific energy density, root-mean-square of velocity, peak ground velocity, Housner intensity, velocity spectrum intensity, and sustained maximum velocity. Finally, a set of fragility curves of RCB are developed for optimal IMs.