• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.231-247
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• 2011

This study introduces a new load increment method for the ductile reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures by including strain-hardening effects. The proposed method is a nonlinear static analysis technique employed for RC frame structures subjected to constant gravity loads and monotonically increasing lateral loads. The material nonlinearity in RC structural elements is considered by adopting plastic hinge concept which is extended by including the strain hardening as well as interaction between bending moment and axial force. Geometric non-linearity, known as second order effect, is implemented to the method as well.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.271-290
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• 2014

In this study, structural irregularities in plan, which has a considerable effect on earthquake behavior of buildings, have been investigated in detail based on Turkish Earthquake Code 2007. The study consists of six main parametric models and a total of 144 sub-models that are grouped based on RC structural systems such as frame, frame + rigid core, frame with shear wall, and frame with shear wall + rigid core. All models are designed to have both symmetrical plan geometry and regular rigidity distribution. Changes in the earthquake behavior of buildings were evaluated according to the number of storeys, number of axes and the configuration of structural elements. Many findings are obtained and assessed as a result of the analysis for each structural irregularity. The study shows that structural irregularities can be observed in completely symmetric buildings in terms of plan geometry and rigidity distribution.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1015-1035
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• 2015

A three-dimensional (3D) numerical analysis for the train-bridge interaction (TBI) system is actively developed in this study in order to investigate the vibration characteristics of rigid-frame reinforced concrete (RC) viaducts in both vertical and lateral directions respectively induced by running high-speed trains. An analytical model of the TBI system is established, in which the high-speed train is described by multi-DOFs vibration system and the rigid-frame RC viaduct is modeled with 3D beam elements. The simulated track irregularities are taken as system excitations. The numerical analytical algorithm is established based on the coupled vibration equations of the TBI system and verified through the detailed comparative study between the computation and testing. The vibration responses of the viaducts such as accelerations, displacements, reaction forces of pier bottoms as well as their amplitudes with train speeds are calculated in detail for both vertical and lateral directions, respectively. The frequency characteristics are further clarified through Fourier spectral analysis and 1/3 octave band spectral analysis. This study is intended to provide not only a simulation approach and evaluation tool for the train-induced vibrations upon the rigid-frame RC viaducts, but also instructive information on the vibration mitigation of the high-speed railway.

• 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.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.45-51
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• 2002

The characteristics of nonlinear seismic behavior and failure mechanism of RC space frame in railroad viaducts have been studied by the numerical analysis in time domain. The structure concerned is modeled in 3 dimensional extent and the RC frame elements consisting of fibers are employed for the columns. The fibers are characterized as RC zone and PC one to distinguish the different energy release after cracking resulted from the bond characteristic between concrete and re-bar. Due to the deviation of the mass center and the stiffness center of the entire structure the complex behavior is shown under seismic actions. The excessive shear force is concentrated on the column beside flexible one relatively, which leads to the failure of bridge concerned.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.473-491
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• 2022

The research investigates experimentally the effect of confinement on structural behavior at the ends of beam-column in reinforced concrete (RC) frames. In the experimental study, five specimens consisting of 1/3-scaled RC frames having single-bay, representing the traditional deficiencies of existing buildings constructed without receiving proper engineering service is investigated. The RC frame specimens were produced to represent most of the existing buildings in Turkey that have damage potential. To decrease the probable damage to the existing buildings exposed to earthquakes, the carbon Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) strengthening technique (fully wrapping) was used on the ends of the RC frame elements to increase the energy dissipation and deformation capacity. The specimens were tested under reversed cyclic lateral loading with constant axial loads. They were constructed satisfying the weak column-strong beam condition and consisting of low-strength concrete, such as compressive strength of 15 MPa. The test results were compared and evaluated considering stiffness, strength, energy dissipation capacity, structural damping, ductility, and damage propagation in detail. Comprehensive investigations of these experimental results reveal that the strengthening of a brittle frame with fully-TRM wrapping with non-anchored was effective in increasing the stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation capacities of RC bare frames. It was also observed that the frame-only-retrofitting with an infill wall is not enough to increase the ductility capacity. In this case, both the frame and infill wall must be retrofitted with TRM composite to increase the stiffness, lateral load carrying, ductility and energy dissipation capacities of RC frames. The presented strengthening method can be an alternative strengthening technique to enhance the seismic performance of existing or moderately damaged RC buildings.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2016

The progressive collapse analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) moment-frame buildings under extreme loads is discussed from the perspective of modeling issues. A threat-independent approach or the alternate path method forms the basis of the simulations wherein the extreme event is modeled via column removal scenarios. Using a prototype RC frame building, issues and considerations in constitutive modeling of materials, options in modeling the structural elements and specification of gravity loads are discussed with the goal of achieving consistent models that can be used in collapse scenarios involving successive loss of load-bearing columns at the lowest level of the building. The role of the floor slabs in mobilizing catenary action and influencing the progressive collapse response is also highlighted. Finally, an energy-based approach for identifying the proximity to collapse of regular multi-story buildings is proposed.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.229-251
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• 2022

In 2017, an intraplate earthquake of Mw 7.1 occurred 120 km from Mexico City (CDMX). Most collapsed structural buildings stroked by the earthquake were flat slab systems joined to reinforced concrete (RC) columns, unreinforced masonry, confined masonry, and dual systems. This article presents the simulated response of an actual six-story RC frame building with masonry infill walls that did not collapse during the 2017 earthquake. It has a structural system similar to that of many of the collapsed buildings and is located in a high seismic amplification zone. Five 3D numerical models were used in the study to model the seismic response of the building. The building dynamic properties were identified using an ambient vibration test (AVT), enabling validation of the building's finite element models. Several assumptions were made to calibrate the numerical model to the properties identified from the AVT, such as the presence of adjacent buildings, variations in masonry properties, soil-foundation-structure interaction, and the contribution of non-structural elements. The results showed that the infill masonry wall would act as a compression strut and crack along the transverse direction because the shear stresses in the original model (0.85 MPa) exceeded the shear strength (0.38 MPa). In compression, the strut presents lower stresses (3.42 MPa) well below its capacity (6.8 MPa). Although the non-structural elements were not considered to be part of the lateral resistant system, the results showed that these elements could contribute by resisting part of the base shear force, reaching a force of 82 kN.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.483-489
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• 2008

Masonry infill walls are frequently used as interior partitions and exterior walls in low- or middlerise RC buildings In the structural design and assessment of structural behaviors of buildings, the infill walls are usually treated as non-structural elements and they are ignored in analytical models. In this study, seismic behaviors of RC frame with/without masonry infill walls were investigated. To this end, the infill walls were modeled as equivalent diagonal struts. Based on analytical results, it has been shown that masonry infill walls can increase the global strength and stiffness of a structure. Accordingly, inter-story drift ratio will be decreased but seismic forces applied to the structure were increased than design seismic load because natural period of the structure was decreased. It is also seen from the analytical results that the inelastic deformation of RC frame with soft story is concentrated on the first story columns and thus, partial damage may have possibility of collapse of system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.645-669
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• 2004

In seismic analysis of moment-resisting frames, beam-column connections are often modeled with rigid joint zones. However, it has been demonstrated that, in ductile reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frames designed based on current codes (to say nothing of older non-ductile frames), the joint zones are in fact not rigid, but rather undergo significant shear deformations that contribute greatly to global drift. Therefore, the "rigid joint" assumption may result in misinterpretation of the global performance characteristics of frames and could consequently lead to miscalculation of strength and ductility demands on constituent frame members. The primary objective of this paper is to propose a rational method for estimating the hysteretic joint shear behavior of RC connections and for incorporating this behavior into frame analysis. The authors tested four RC edge beam-column-slab connection subassemblies subjected to earthquake-type lateral loading; hysteretic joint shear behavior is investigated based on these tests and other laboratory tests reported in the literature. An analytical scheme employing the modified compression field theory (MCFT) is developed to approximate joint shear stress vs. joint shear strain response. A connection model capable of explicitly considering hysteretic joint shear behavior is then formulated for nonlinear structural analysis. In the model, a joint is represented by rigid elements located along the joint edges and nonlinear rotational springs embedded in one of the four hinges linking adjacent rigid elements. The connection model is able to well represent the experimental hysteretic joint shear behavior and overall load-displacement response of connection subassemblies.