• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.1-19
• /
• 2019

The aim of the paper is the prediction of the seismic collapse mode of steel storage pallet racks under seismic loads. The attention paid by the researchers on the behaviour of the industrial steel storage pallets racks is increased over the years thanks to their high dead-to-live load ratio. In fact, these structures, generally made by cold-formed thin-walled profiles, present very low structural costs but can support large and expensive loads. The paper presents a prediction of the seismic collapse modes of multi-storey racks. The analysis of the possible collapse modes has been made by an approach based on the kinematic theorem of plastic collapse extended to the second order effects by means of the concept of collapse mechanism equilibrium curve. In this way, the dissipative behaviour of racks is determined with a simpler method than the pushover analysis. Parametric analyses have been performed on 24 racks, differing for the geometric layout and cross-section of the components, designed in according to the EN16618 and EN15512 requirements. The obtained results have highlighted that, in all the considered cases, the global collapse mechanism, that is the safest one, never develops, leading to a dangerous situation that must be avoided to preserve the structure during a seismic event. Although the studied racks follow all the codes prescriptions, the development of a dissipative collapse mechanism is not achieved. In addition, also the variability of load distribution has been considered, reflecting the different pallet positions assumed during the in-service life of the racks, to point out its influence on the collapse mechanism. The information carried out from the paper can be very useful for designers and manufacturers because it allows to better understand the racks behaviour in seismic load condition.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.28 no.1A
• /
• pp.25-37
• /
• 2008

The capacity spectrum method (CSM) is a simple and graphical seismic analysis procedure. Originally, it has been developed for buildings, but now its applicability has been extended to bridge structures. It is based on the capacity curve estimated by pushover analysis and demand spectrum reduced from linear elastic design spectrum by using effective damping or strength reduction factor. In this paper, the inelastic demand spectrum as the reduced demand spectrum is calculated from the linear elastic design spectrum by using the several formulas for the strength reduction factor. The effects of the strength reduction factor for the capacity spectrum analysis are evaluated for 3 types of symmetric and asymmetric bridge structures. To investigate an accuracy of the CSM which several formulas for strength reduction factor were applied, the maximum displacements estimated by the CSM are compared with the results obtained by nonlinear time history analysis for 8 artificially generated earthquakes. The maximum displacements estimated by the CSM using the SJ formula among the several strength reduction factors provide the most accurate agreement with those calculated by the inelastic time history analysis.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.175-189
• /
• 2024

Aiming at studying the plastic hinge (PH) evolution regularities and failure mode of rocking wall moment frame (RWMF) structure in earthquakes, the whole-working history analysis of seismic performance state of RWMF structure based on co-operation performance and PH evolution was carried out. Building upon the theoretical analysis of the elastic internal forces and deformations of RWMF structures, nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) methods were employed to perform both Pushover analysis and seismic response time history analysis under different seismic coefficients (δ). The relationships among PH occurrence ratios (R_ph), inter-story drifts and δ were established. Based on the plotted curve of the seismic performance states, evaluation limits for the R_ph and inter-story drifts were provided for different performance states of RWMF structures. The results indicate that the R_ph of RWMF structures exhibits a nonlinear evolution trend of "fast at first, then slow" with the increasing of δ. The general pattern is characterized by the initial development of beam hinges in the middle stories, followed by the development towards the top and bottom stories until the beam hinges are fully formed. Subsequently, the development of column hinges shifts from the bottom and top stories towards the middle stories of the structure, ultimately leading to the loss of seismic lateral capacity with a failure mode of partial beam yield, demonstrating a global yielding pattern. Moreover, the limits for the R_ph and inter-story drifts effectively evaluate the five different performance states of RWMF structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.59-66
• /
• 2017

Modern seismic codes rely on performance-based seismic design methodology which requires that the structures withstand inelastic deformation. Many studies have focused on the inelastic deformation ratio evaluation (ratio between the inelastic and elastic maximum lateral displacement demands) for various inelastic spectra. This paper investigates the inelastic response spectra through the ductility demand ${\mu}$, the yield strength reduction factor $R_y$, and the inelastic deformation ratio. They depend on the vibration period T, the post-to-preyield stiffness ratio ${\alpha}$, the peak ground acceleration (PGA), and the normalized yield strength coefficient ${\eta}$ (ratio of yield strength coefficient divided by the PGA). A new inelastic deformation ratio $C_{\eta}$ is defined; it is related to the capacity curve (pushover curve) through the coefficient (${\eta}$) and the ratio (${\alpha}$) that are used as control parameters. A set of 140 real ground motions is selected. The structures are bilinear inelastic single degree of freedom systems (SDOF). The sensitivity of the resulting inelastic deformation ratio mean values is discussed for different levels of normalized yield strength coefficient. The influence of vibration period T, post-to-preyield stiffness ratio ${\alpha}$, normalized yield strength coefficient ${\eta}$, earthquake magnitude, ruptures distance (i.e., to fault rupture) and site conditions is also investigated. A regression analysis leads to simplified expressions of this inelastic deformation ratio. These simplified equations estimate the inelastic deformation ratio for structures, which is a key parameter for design or evaluation. The results show that, for a given level of normalized yield strength coefficient, these inelastic displacement ratios become non sensitive to none of the rupture distance, the earthquake magnitude or the site class. Furthermore, they show that the post-to-preyield stiffness has a negligible effect on the inelastic deformation ratio if the normalized yield strength coefficient is greater than unity.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.75-84
• /
• 2003

Most structures are expected to deform beyond the limit of linearly elastic behavior when subjected to strong ground motion. Seismic evaluation of structure requires an estimation of the structural performance in terms of displacement demand imposed by earthquakes on the structure. The nonlinear response history analysis(NRHA) among various nonlinear analysis methods is the most accurate to compute seismic performance of structures, but it is time-consuming and necessitate more efforts. The nonlinear approximate methods, which is more practical and reliable tools for predicting seismic behavior of structures, are extensively studied. Among them, the capacity spectrum method(CSM) is conceptually simple, but the iterative procedure is time-consuming and may sometimes lead to no solution or multiple solutions. This paper considers a nonlinear direct spectrum method(NDSM) to evaluate seismic performance of mixed building structures without iterative computations, given dynamic property T from stiffness skeleton curve and nonlinear pseudo acceleration $A_{y}$/g and/or ductility ratio $\mu$ from response spectrum. The nonlinear response history analysis has been performed and analyzed with various earthquakes for estimation of reliability and practicality of NDSM with mixed building structures.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.207-215
• /
• 2014

As a reinforcement material for RC members, the modified epoxy mortar has been reported one of the superior materials since the material can improve the load capacity and the seismic performance of the RC members. However, there were few experimental studies and analytical research for improving seismic performance with the material. This study is to propose an effective reinforcement plan for RC Ordinary Moment Resisting Frame (OMRF) with the evaluation of seismic performance and economic analysis. For the objective, first, the load-deflection curve of a simple beam specimen was compared with the analytical results. Second, a 5-story RC OMRF structure was designed only for gravity load and the alternatives for seismic reinforcement were suggested. Third, pushover analysis was executed for evaluation of design coefficients and seismic performance of the structures. Finally, an effective reinforcement plan was suggested based on the results of quantity take-off and economic analysis. The findings of this study can be utilized as the basic data when the modified epoxy mortar is applied to practice for improving the seismic performance of RC members.