• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.223-241
• /
• 2007

Seven full-scale exterior beam-column joints were produced and tested under reversible cyclic loads to determine. Two of these seven specimens were produced using ordinary reinforced concrete (RC). Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) was placed in three different regions of the beams of the rest five specimens to determine the extent of the region where SFRC is the most effective. The extent of the region of SFRC was kept constant at the columns of all five specimens. Three of these five specimens which had one stirrup in the joint, were tested to evaluate the effect of the stirrup on the behavior of the beam-column joint together with SFRC. In production of the specimens with SFRC, all special requirements of the Turkish Earthquake Code related to the spacing of hoops were disregarded. Previous researches reported in the literature indicate that the fiber type, the volume content, and the aspect ratio of steel fibers affect the behavior of beam-column joints produced with SFRC. The results of the present investigation show that the behavior of exterior beam-column joints depends on the extent of the region where SFRC is used and the usage of stirrup in the joint, in addition to the parameters listed in the literature.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.19-35
• /
• 2015

This study compares the seismic performances of two reinforced concrete frame specimens tested by the pseudo-dynamic procedure. The pair of 3-storey, 3-bay frames specimens are constructed with typical characteristics of older construction which is lacking seismic design. One of the specimens is a bare frame while the other is infilled with low-strength autoclave aerated concrete (AAC) block masonry. The focus of this study is to investigate the influence of low strength masonry infill walls on the seismic response of older RC frames designed for gravity loads. It is found that the presence of weak infill walls considerably reduce deformations and damage in the upper stories while their influence at the critical ground story is not all that positive. Infill walls tend to localize damage at the critical story due to a peculiar frame-infill interaction, and impose larger internal force and deformation demands on the columns and beams bounding the infills. Therefore the general belief in earthquake engineering that infills develop a second line of defence against lateral forces in seismically deficient frames is nullified in case of low-strength infill walls in the presented experimental research.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.523-532
• /
• 2010

If an infill wall in a reinforced concrete frame is shorter than the column height and there is no initial gap between the column and the infill wall, the short column effect can occur during an earthquake shaking. This form of damage is frequently observed in many earthquake-damaged buildings all around the world and especially in Turkey. In this study, an effective method, which consists of placing additional infill wall segments surrounding the short column, to prevent this type of failure is examined. The influence of adding infill wall in the reduction of the shear force in the short column is also investigated. A parametric study is carried out for one-storey infilled frames with one to five bays using the percentage of the additional infill wall surrounding the short column and the number of spans as the parameters. Then the investigation is extended to a case of a multistorey building damaged due to short column effect during the 1998 Adana-Ceyhan earthquake in Turkey. The results show that the addition of the infill walls around the potential short columns is an effective way to significantly reduce the shear force.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.43-54
• /
• 2019

Existing reinforced concrete frame buildings designed for only gravity loads have been seismically vulnerable due to their inadequate column detailing. The seismic vulnerabilities can be mitigated by the application of a column retrofit technique, which combines high-strength near surface mounted bars with a fiber reinforced polymer wrapping system. This study presents the full-scale shaker testing of a non-ductile frame structure retrofitted using the combined retrofit system. The full-scale dynamic testing was performed to measure realistic dynamic responses and to investigate the effectiveness of the retrofit system through the comparison of the measured responses between as-built and retrofitted test frames. Experimental results demonstrated that the retrofit system reduced the dynamic responses without any significant damage on the columns because it improved flexural, shear and lap-splice resisting capacities. In addition, the retrofit system contributed to changing a damage mechanism from a soft-story mechanism (column-sidesway mechanism) to a mixed-damage mechanism, which was commonly found in reinforced concrete buildings with strong-column weak-beam system.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.10 no.6
• /
• pp.527-536
• /
• 2020

In this study, a process is proposed to calculate analytical correction values for the vertical shortening of all columns on all floors in a high-rise building that minimizes the error between the structural analysis predictions and values measured during construction. The weight ratio and the most probable value were accordingly considered based on the properties of the shortening value analyzed at several points in each construction stage and the distance between these measured points and unmeasured points at which the shortening was predicted. The effective range and shortening value normalization were considered using the column grouping concept. These tools were applied to calculate the error ratio between the predicted and measured values on a floor where a measured point exists, and then determine the estimated error ratio and estimated error value for the unmeasured point using this error ratio. At points on a floor where no measured point exists, the estimated error ratio and the estimated error value were calculated by applying the most probable value considering the weight ratio for the nearest floor where measured points exist. In this manner, the error values and estimated error values can be determined at all points in a structure. Then, the analytical correction value, defined as this error or estimated error value, was applied by adding it to the predicted value. Finally, the adequacy of the proposed correction method was verified against measurements by applying the analytical corrections to all unmeasured points based on the points where the measurement exists.

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

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.83 no.4
• /
• pp.563-576
• /
• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the progressive collapse potential of buildings designed using conventional design codes for the merchant occupancy classification and subjected to a sudden column failure. For this purpose, three reinforced concrete buildings having different story numbers were designed according to the seismic design recommendations of TSCB-2019. Later on, the buildings were analyzed using the GSA-2016 and UFC 4-023-03 to observe their progressive collapse responses. Three columns were removed independently in the structures from different locations. Nonlinear dynamic analysis method for the alternate path direct design approach was implemented for the design evaluation. The plasticity of the structural members was simulated by using nonlinear fiber hinges. The moment, axial, and shear force interaction on the hinges was considered by the Modified Compression Field Theory. Moreover, an existing experimental study investigating the progressive collapse behavior of reinforced concrete structures was used to observe the validation of nonlinear fiber hinges and the applied analysis methodology. The study results deduce that a limited local collapse disproportionately more extensive than the initial failure was experienced on the buildings designed according to TSCB-2019. The mercantile structures designed according to current seismic codes require additional direct design considerations to improve their progressive collapse resistance against the risk of a sudden column loss.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.127-141
• /
• 2022

In this paper, a numerical procedure is proposed for achieving the minimum cost design of reinforced concrete polygonal column cross-sections under compression and biaxial bending. A methodology is developed to integrate the metaheuristic algorithm Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO) with an algorithm for the evaluation of the strength of reinforced concrete cross-sections under combined axial load and biaxial bending, according to the design criteria of Brazilian Standard ABNT NBR 6118:2014. The objective function formulation takes into account the costs of concrete, reinforcement, and formwork. The cross-section dimensions, the number and diameter of rebar and the concrete strength are taken as discrete design variables. This methodology is applied to polygonal cross-sections, such as rectangular sections, rectangular hollow sections, and L-shaped cross-sections. To evaluate the efficiency of the methodology, the optimal solutions obtained were compared to results reported by other authors using conventional methods or alternative optimization techniques. An additional study investigates the effect on final costs for an alternative parametrization of rebar positioning on the cross-section. The proposed optimization method proved to be efficient in the search for optimal solutions, presenting consistent results that confirm the importance of using optimization techniques in the design of reinforced concrete structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.47-64
• /
• 2023

Due to their efficient use of materials, hybrid reinforced concrete-steel (RCS) systems provide more practical and economic advantages than traditional steel and concrete moment frames. This study evaluated the seismic design factors and response modification factor 'R' of RCS composite moment frames composed of reinforced concrete (RC) columns and steel (S) beams. The current International Building Code (IBC) and ASCE/SEI 7-05 classify RCS systems as special moment frames and provide an R factor of 8 for these systems. In this study, seismic design parameters were initially quantified for this structural system using an R factor of 8 based on the global methodology provided in FEMA P695. For analyses, multi-story (3, 5, 10, and 15) and multi-span (3 and 5) archetypes were used to conduct nonlinear static pushover analysis and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) under near-field and far-field ground motions. The analyses were performed using the OpenSees software. The procedure was reiterated with a larger R factor of 9. Results of the performance evaluation of the investigated archetypes demonstrated that an R factor of 9 achieved the safety margin against collapse outlined by FEMA P695 and can be used for the design of RCS systems.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.401-409
• /
• 2014

This research develops tools and strategies for optimizing RC column sections applied in tall buildings. Optimization parameters are concrete strength and section shape, the objective function for which is subject to several predefined constraints drawn from the original structural design. For this purpose, we developed new components for StrAuto, a parametric modeling and optimization tool for building structure. The components receive from external analysis solvers member strengths calculated from the original design model, and output optimized column sections satisfying the minimum cost. Using these components, optimized sections are firstly obtained for each predefined concrete strength applied to the whole floors in the project building. The obtained results for each concrete strength are comparatively examined to determine the fittest sections which will also result in the fittest vertical zoning for concrete strength. The main optimization scenario for this is to search for the vertical levels where the identical optimized sections coincide for the two different concrete strengths in concern, and select those levels for the boundaries where a concrete strength will be changed to another. The optimization process provided in this research is a product of an intensive development designed for a specific member in a specific project. Thus, the algorithm suggested takes on a microscopic and mathematical approach. However, the technique has a lot of potential that it can further be extensively developed and applied for future projects.