• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 1997

A numerical procedure for dynamic analysis of structures including lateral-torsional coupling, axial force effect and soil-structure interaction is presented in this study. A simple soil-structure system model has been designed for microcomputer applications capable of reflecting both kinematic and inertial soil-foundation interaction as well as the effect of this interaction on the superstructure response. A parametric study focusing on inertial soil-structure interaction is carried out through a simplified nine-degree of freedom building model with different foundation conditions. The inertial soil-structure interaction and axial force effects on a 20-storey building excited by an Australian earthquake is analysed through its top floor displacement time history and envelope values of structural maximum displacement and shear force.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.127-147
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• 2011

In a companion paper as well as in earlier publications, it has been shown that in asymmetric frame buildings, designed in accordance with modern codes and subjected to strong earthquake excitations, the ductility demands at the so called "flexible" edges are consistently and substantially higher than the ductility demands at the "stiff" edges of the building. In some cases the differences in the computed ductility factors between elements at the two opposite building edges exceeded 100%. Similar findings have also been reported for code designed reinforced concrete buildings. This is an undesirable behavior as it indicates no good use of material and the possibility for overload of the "flexible" edge members with a consequent potential for premature failure. In the present paper, a design modification will be introduced that can alleviate the problem and lead to a more uniform distribution of ductility demands in the elements of all building edges. The presented results are based on the steel frames detailed in the companion paper. This investigation is another step towards more rational design of non-symmetric steel buildings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.239-260
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• 2021

Torsional response of buildings is attributed to poor structural configurations in plan, which arises due to two factors - torsional eccentricity and torsional flexibility. Usually, building codes address effects due to the former. This study examines both of these effects. Buildings with torsional eccentricity (e.g., those with large eccentricity) and with torsional flexibility (those with torsional mode as a fundamental mode) demand large deformations of vertical elements resisting lateral loads, especially those along the building perimeter in plan. Lateral-torsional responses are studied of unsymmetrical buildings through elastic and inelastic analyses using idealised single-storey building models (with two degrees of freedom). Displacement demands on vertical elements distributed in plan are non-uniform and sensitive to characteristics of both structure and earthquake ground motion. Limits are proposed to mitigate lateral-torsional effects, which guides in proportioning vertical elements and restricts amplification of lateral displacement in them and to avoid torsional mode as the first mode. Nonlinear static and dynamic analyses of multi-storey buildings are used to validate the limits proposed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.471-487
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• 2013

Performance of a prototype base isolated building located at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG) has been studied here. Two numbers of three storeyed single bay RCC framed prototype buildings were constructed for experimental purpose at IITG, one supported on conventional isolated footings and the other on a seismic isolation system, consisting of lead plug bearings. Force balance accelerometers and a 12 channel strong motion recorder have been used for recording building response during seismic events. Floor responses from these buildings show amplification for the conventional building while 60 to 70% reduction has been observed for the isolated building. Numerical models of both the buildings have been created in SAP2000 Nonlinear. Infill walls have been modeled as compression struts and have been incorporated into the 3D models using Gap elements. System identification of the recorded data has been carried out using Parametric State Space Modeling (N4SID) and the numerical models have been updated accordingly. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of base isolation systems in controlling seismic response of isolated buildings thereby leading to increased levels of seismic protection. The numerical models calibrated by relatively low level of earthquake shaking provides the starting point for modeling the non-linear response of the building when subjected to strong shaking.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.21-38
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• 2002

A control algorithm combining viscous and non-linear Reid damping mechanisms has been recently proposed by the authors to command active friction dampers. In this paper, friction dampers and the proposed algorithm are applied to control the seismic responses of a nonlinear 20-story building. Piezoelectric stack actuators are used to implement the control algorithm. The capacity of each damper is determined by the practical size of piezoelectric actuators and the availability of power supply. The saturation effect of the actuators on the building responses is investigated. To minimize the peak story drift ratio or floor acceleration of the building structure, a practical sequential procedure is developed to sub-optimally place the dampers on various floors. The effectiveness of active friction dampers and the efficiency of the proposed sequential procedure are verified by subjecting the building structure to four earthquakes of various intensities. The performance of 80 dampers and 137 dampers installed on the structure is evaluated according to 5 criteria. Numerical simulations indicated that the proposed control algorithm effectively reduces the seismic responses of the uncontrolled 20-story building, such as inelastic deformation. The sub-optimal placement of dampers based on peak acceleration outperforms that based on peak drift ratio for structures subjected to near-fault ground motions. Saturation of piezoelectric actuators has adverse effect on floor acceleration.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.343-353
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• 2021

In this study, in order to improve the seismic performance of existing reinforced concrete (RC) framed structures, various external attachment of corner steel frame configurations was considered as a user-friendly retrofitting method. The external steel frame is designed to contribute to the lateral stiffness and load carrying capacity of the existing RC structure. A six-story building was taken into account. Four different external corner steel frame configurations were suggested in order to strengthen the building. The 3D models of the building with suggested retrofitting steel frames were developed within ABAQUS environment using solid finite elements and analyzed under horizontal loadings nonlinearly. Horizontal top displacement vs loading curves were obtained to determine the overall performance of the building. Contributions of steel and RC frames to the carried loads were computed individually. Load/capacity ratios for the ground floor columns were presented. In the study, 3D rendered images of the building with the suggested retrofits are created to better visualize the real effect of the retrofit on the final appearance of the façade of the building. The analysis results have shown that the proposed external steel frame retrofit configurations increased the lateral load carrying capacity and lateral stiffness and can be used to improve the seismic performance of RC framed buildings.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.41-60
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• 2023

The effect of cladding panel size on the size reduction factor (SRF) of extreme area-averaging wind pressure (EAWP) on the facades of a high-rise building is often ignored in previous studies. Based on wind tunnel tests, this study investigated the horizontal and vertical correlations of wind pressure on the facade claddings of square-section high-rise buildings. Then, the influencing parameters on the SRF of the EAWP on the cladding panels were analyzed, which were the panel area, panel width, panel length and building width. The results show clear regional distinctions in the correlation of wind pressures on the building facades and the rules of the horizontal and vertical correlations are remarkably different, which causes the cladding size ratio to impact the SRF significantly. Therefore, this study suggests the use of the non-dimensional comprehensive size parameter b^𝜶h^1-𝜶/B (𝜶 is the fitting parameter) determined by the cladding panel horizontal size b, cladding panel vertical size h and the building width B rather than the cladding panel area to describe the variation of the EAWP. Finally, some empirical formula for the SRF of the EAWP on the cladding of a high-rise building is proposed with the nondimensional comprehensive size parameter.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.163-172
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• 2009

As customers are becoming increasingly important in corporate management, there is a growing demand for migration to customer-focused organizational structures. Unlike the manufacturing industry, the construction industry is non-iterative and non-standardized. As a result, a wide variety of materials, human resources, technologies and equipment must be mobilized in complex work activities to complete a structure. Consequently, surprises are bound to occur as such work activities progress. This paper intends to study a strategy that is designed to improve customer services for apartment building units. It aims primarily to focus on cost control and brand management. Housing tenants and industry experts are surveyed to collect input for issue analysis. In addition, the external circumstances and internal capabilities of major builders in Korea are analyzed, and a SWOT analysis is performed regarding market conditions related to customer service. These analysis results are utilized to develop a strategy implementation plan over different time frames, and the operational resources available for such strategy implementation are analyzed in order to forecast its performance. This research will facilitate communication between construction companies in Korea and their customers by proposing a customer service improvement strategy for apartment building units, and is expected to provide resource material for a strategic analysis of efforts to fully incorporate customer requirements

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.389-402
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• 2008

In December 2005, one(A) of the two pre-engineered warehouse buildings in the port of K City of Korea was completely destroyed and the other(B) was seriously damaged to be demolished. Over-loaded snow and unexpected blast of wind were the causes of the accident and destructive behavior was brittle fracture caused by web local buckling and lateral torsional buckling at the flange below rafter. However, the architectural design technology of today based on material non-linear method does not consider the tolerances to solve the problem of such brittle fracture. So, geometric non-linear evaluation which includes initial deformation, width-thickness ratio, web stiffener and unbraced length is required. This study evaluates the structural safety of 4 models in terms of width-thickness ratio and unbraced length using ANSYS 9.0 with parameters such as width-thickness ratio of web, existence/non-existence of stiffener and unbraced length. The purpose of this study is to analyze destructive mechanism of the above-mentioned two warehouse buildings and to provide ways to promote the safety of pre-engineered buildings.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.669-682
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• 2017

The normalised version of bispectrum, the so-called bicoherence, has often proved a reliable method of damage detection on engineering applications. Indeed, higher-order spectral analysis (HOSA) has the advantage of being able to detect non-linearity in the structural dynamic response while being insensitive to ambient vibrations. Skewness in the response may be easily spotted and related to damage conditions, as the majority of common faults and cracks shows bilinear effects. The present study tries to extend the application of HOSA to damage localisation, resorting to a neural network based classification algorithm. In order to validate the approach, a non-linear finite element model of a 4-meters-long cantilever beam has been built. This model could be seen as a first generic concept of more complex structural systems, such as aircraft wings, wind turbine blades, etc. The main aim of the study is to train a Neural Network (NN) able to classify different damage locations, when fed with bispectra. These are computed using the dynamic response of the FE nonlinear model to random noise excitation.