• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.263-270
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• 2003

Before the implementation of the 1992 seismic design provisions in Korea, longitudinal steels of RC bridge piers were practically lap-spliced in the plastic hinge region. Experimental investigation was made to evaluate the seismic performance of RC bridge pier specimens in a flexure/shear mode. Six circular test specimens in an aspect ratio of 2.5 (600mm in diameter) were made with test parameters confinement ratio, lap splices, and retrofit FRP materials. They were damaged under a series of artificial earthquakes with 0.22g PGA, being compatible in Korean peninsula, through the pseudo-dynamic test. Probable damages were assessed by the Park and Ang damage index. Approximate 0.1 and 0.3 damage indices were obtained for RC specimens without lap splice and with lap splice, respectively. Directly after the pseudo-dynamic test, damaged test columns were laterally actuated under inelastic reversal cyclic loadings simultaneously under a constant axial load. Through curvature measurements, residual seismic performance was evaluated for test specimens. Test results show that RC pier specimens with lap-spliced appeared to fail at low ductility, but significant improvement was obtained for the ductility of these specimens if externally wrapped with FRP.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.123-132
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• 2021

Deficient beam-column joints of reinforced concrete (RC) structures designed to older practices and codes often lead to destructive local or global failures. A strengthening technique for these joints based on the use of the new and innovative Carbon-FRP (C-FRP) ropes is presented and investigated. The C-FRP ropes are diagonally placed in superficial notches on the two sides of the joint. Two full scale external substandard joint subassemblages with the same characteristics, one unstrengthened and one strengthened with diagonally applied C-FRP ropes, are constructed and tested in cyclic loading. Special attention has been given to the elaboration of the acquired test measurements. The extracted conclusions are based on the comparative study of the hysteretic responses of the specimens, the observed maximum load envelopes, the comparisons of the joint body shear deformations as measured using diagonally mounted LVTDs, the calculated nominal principal stresses developed in the joint regions, the assessed joint damage as expressed by the damage index by Park and Ang and finally the calculated values of the equivalent damping ratio. From these comparisons it is concluded that application of diagonally mounted C-FRP ropes on the two sides of the joint body of exterior connections is an efficient easy-to-apply technique for the strengthening of substandard RC joints.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.399-409
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• 2018

The dynamic response and seismic damage of single-layer reticulated shells in the near field of a rupturing fault can be different from those in the far field due to the different characteristics in the ground motions. To investigate the effect, the dynamic response and seismic damage of this spatial structures subjected to two different ground motions were numerically studied by nonlinear dynamic response analysis. Firstly, twelve seismic waves with an apparent velocity pulse, including horizontal and vertical seismic waves, were selected to represent the near-fault ground motion characteristics. In contrast, twelve seismic records recorded at the same site from other or same events where the epicenter was far away from the site were employed as the far-fault ground motions. Secondly, the parametric modeling process of Kiewitt single-layer reticulated domes using the finite-element package ANSYS was described carefully. Thirdly, a nonlinear time-history response analysis was carried out for typical domes subjected to different earthquakes, followed by analyzing the dynamic response and seismic damage of this spatial structures under two different ground motions based on the maximum nodal displacements and Park-Ang index as well as dissipated energy. The results showed that this spatial structures in the near field of a rupturing fault exhibit a larger dynamic response and seismic damage than those obtained from far-fault ground motions. In addition, the results also showed that the frequency overlap between structures and ground motions has a significant influence on the dynamic response of the single-layer reticulated shells, the duration of the ground motions has little effects.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

Control algorithms are the most important aspects in successful control of structures against earthquakes. In recent years, intelligent control methods rather than classical control methods have been more considered by researchers, due to some specific capabilities such as handling nonlinear and complex systems, adaptability, and robustness to errors and uncertainties. However, due to lack of learning ability of fuzzy controller, it is used in combination with a genetic algorithm, which in turn suffers from some problems like premature convergence around an incorrect target. Therefore in this research, the introduction and design of the Fuzzy Cooperative Coevolution (Fuzzy CoCo) controller and Adaptive Neural-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) have been innovatively presented for semi-active seismic control. In this research, in order to improve the seismic behavior of structures, a semi-active control of building using Magneto Rheological (MR) damper is proposed to determine input voltage of Magneto Rheological (MR) dampers using ANFIS and Fuzzy CoCo. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to optimize the performance of controllers. In this paper, the design of controllers is based on the reduction of the Park-Ang damage index. In order to assess the effectiveness of the designed control system, its function is numerically studied on a 9-story benchmark building, and is compared to those of a Wavelet Neural Network (WNN), fuzzy logic controller optimized by genetic algorithm (GAFLC), Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) and Clipped Optimal Control (COC) systems in terms of seismic performance. The results showed desirable performance of the ANFIS and Fuzzy CoCo controllers in considerably reducing the structure responses under different earthquakes; for instance ANFIS and Fuzzy CoCo controllers showed respectively 38 and 46% reductions in peak inter-story drift ($J_1$) compared to the LQG controller; 30 and 39% reductions in $J_1$ compared to the COC controller and 3 and 16% reductions in $J_1$ compared to the GAFLC controller. When compared to other controllers, one can conclude that Fuzzy CoCo controller performs better.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.236-243
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• 2022

Background: In the case of multiple exposures to different types of heavy metals, such as the conditions faced by residents living near a smelter, it would be preferable to group hazardous substances with similar characteristics rather than individually related substances and evaluate the effects of each group on the human body. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of factor analysis in the assessment of health effects caused by exposure to two or more hazardous substances with similar characteristics, such as in the case of residents living near a smelter. Methods: Heavy metal concentration data for 572 people living in the vicinity of the Janghang smelter area were grouped based on several subfactors according to their characteristics using factor analysis. Using these factor scores as an independent variable, multiple regression analysis was performed on health effect markers. Results: Through factor analysis, three subfactors were extracted. Factor 1 contained copper and zinc in serum and revealed a common characteristic of the enzyme co-factor in the human body. Factor 2 involved urinary cadmium and arsenic, which are harmful metals related to kidney damage. Factor 3 encompassed blood mercury and lead, which are classified as related to cardiovascular disease. As a result of multiple linear regression analysis, it was found that using the factor index derived through factor analysis as an independent variable is more advantageous in assessing the relevance to health effects than when analyzing the two heavy metals by including them in a single regression model. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that regression analysis linked with factor analysis is a good alternative in that it can simultaneously identify the effects of heavy metals with similar properties while overcoming multicollinearity that may occur in environmental epidemiologic studies on exposure to various types of heavy metals.