• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.99-123
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• 2015

In this study, structural vulnerability of reinforced concrete moment resisting frames (RC-MRFs) by considering the Iran-specific characteristics is investigated to manage the earthquake risk in terms of multicomponent seismic excitations. Low and medium rise RC-MRFs, which constitute approximately 80-90% of the total buildings stock in Iran, are focused in this fragility-based assessment. The seismic design of 3-12 story RC-MRFs are carried out according to the Iranian Code of Practice for Seismic Resistant Design of Buildings (Standard No. 2800), and the analytical models are formed accordingly in open source nonlinear platforms. Frame structures are categorized in three subclasses according to the specific characteristics of construction practice and the observed seismic performance after major earthquakes in Iran. Both far and near fields' ground motions have been considered in the fragility estimation. An optimal intensity measure (IM) called Sa, avg and beta probability distribution were used to obtain reliable fragility-based database for earthquake damage and loss estimation of RC buildings stock in urban areas of Iran. Nonlinear incremental dynamic analyses by means of lumped-parameter based structural models have been simulated and performed to extract the fragility curves. Approximate confidence bounds are developed to represent the epistemic uncertainties inherent in the fragility estimations. Consequently, it's shown that including vertical ground motion in the analysis is highly recommended for reliable seismic assessment of RC buildings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.279-293
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• 2021

Most of the existing seismic codes for RC buildings consider only a scenario earthquake for analysis, often characterized by the response spectrum at the specified location. However, any real earthquake event often involves occurrences of multiple earthquakes within a few hours or days, possessing similar or even higher energy than the first earthquake. This critically impairs the rehabilitation measures thereby resulting in the accumulation of structural damages for subsequent earthquakes after the first earthquake. Also, the existing seismic provisions account for the non-linear response of an RC building frame implicitly by specifying a constant response modification factor (R) in a linear elastic design. However, the 'R' specified does not address the changes in structural configurations of RC moment-resisting frames (RC MRFs) viz., building height, number of bays present, bay width, irregularities arising out of mass and stiffness changes, etc. resulting in changed dynamic characteristics of the structural system. Hence, there is an imperative need to assess the seismic performance under sequential earthquake ground motions, considering the adequacy of code-specified 'R' in the representation of dynamic characteristics of RC buildings. Therefore, the present research is focused on the evaluation of the non-linear response of medium-rise 3D RC MRFs with and without vertical irregularities under bi-directional sequential earthquake ground motions using non-linear dynamic analysis. It is evident from the results that collapse probability increases, and 'R' reduces significantly for various RC MRFs subjected to sequential earthquakes, pronouncing the vulnerability and inadequacy of estimation of design base shear by code-specified 'R' under sequential earthquakes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.3
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• pp.289-297
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• 2018

The real behavior of the RC structures constructed based on the assumed specifications of the used materials is matched with the designed ones when the assumed and the applied specifications in construction are the same. Despite in the construction phase of the reinforced concrete (RC) structures always it is tried to implement the same specifications of materials as given in the executive drawings, but considering the unpredicted/uncontrolled parameters that affect the specification of materials, always there is a deviation between the constructed and the designed materials' specifications. The objective of this paper is to submit a guideline for the evaluation of the strength and damage to the existing RC structures encountered deviation in materials' strengths. To achieve this goal, the lateral strength (plastic behaviors) and damage to twenty-five RC moment-resisting frames (MRFs) are studied by applying the inelastic analysis. In this study, a couple of concrete and reinforcement strengths' deviations are investigated. The obtained results indicate that in general, there is a semi-linear relationship between the deviation in the strength of reinforcement and the changes in the lateral strength values of the MRFs. The relative effect of the deviation in the strength of reinforcements is more than the relative effect of the deviation in the concrete strength on the damage rate. The obtained results could be a guideline for the engineers in the survey of the existing buildings encountered deviation in materials' strengths during their construction phase.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.231-248
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• 2022

Hybrid Steel-Trussed Concrete Beam (HSTCB) is structural typology suitable for light industrialization. HSTCBs usually cover long span with small depths, which lead to significant amount of longitudinal rebars. The latter make beam-column joints more prone to damage due to earthquake-induced cyclic actions. This phenomenon can be avoided using friction-based BCCs. Friction devices at Beam-to-Column Connections (BCCs) have become promising solutions to reduce the damage experienced by structural members during severe earthquakes. Few solutions have been developed for cast-in-place Reinforced Concrete (RC) and steel-concrete composite Moment Resisting Frames (MRFs), because of the difficulty of designing cost-effective damage-proof connections. This paper proposes a friction-based BCC for RC MRFs made with HSTCBs. Firstly, the proposed connection is described, and its innovative characteristics are emphasized. Secondly, the design method of the connection is outlined. A detailed 3D FE model representative of a beam-column joint fitted with the proposed connection is developed. Several monotonic and cyclic analyses are performed, investigating different design moment values. Lastly, the numerical results are discussed, which demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed solution in preventing damage to RC members, and in ensuring satisfactory dissipative capacity.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.391-405
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• 2020

The use of passive energy dissipation devices has been widely used in the construction industry to minimize the probability of damage occurred under intense ground motion. In this study, collapse margin ratio (CMR) and fragility curves are the main parameters in the assessment to characterize the collapse safety of the structures. The assessment is done on three types of RC frame structures, incorporating three types of dampers, viscoelastic, friction, and BRB dampers. The Incremental dynamic analyses (IDA) were performed by simulating an array of 20 strong ground motion (SGM) records considering both far-field and near-field seismic scenarios that were followed by fragility curves. With respect to far-field ground motion records, the CMR values of the selected frames indicate to be higher and reachable to safety margin more than those under near-field ground motion records that introduce a high devastating impact on the structures compared to far-field excitations. This implies that the near field impact affects the ground movements at the site by attenuation the direction and causing high-frequency filtration. Besides that, the results show that the viscoelastic damper gives better performance for the structures in terms of reducing the damages compared to the other energy dissipation devices during earthquakes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.4
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• pp.347-361
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• 2023

This research aims to assess the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) residential buildings when moment-resisting frames (MRFs) are used as the lateral resisting system. This investigation was conducted using MIDAS Gen v.19.0. Buildings with various plan footprints (Square, Rectangular, Circular, Triangular, and Plus-Shaped), and different heights (15 m, 30 m, 45 m, and 60 m) are investigated. The defined load cases, the equivalent static lateral load pattern, and the response spectrum function were defined as stated by the American Standard (ASCE 7-16), the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC97), the Egyptian Code for Loads (ECP-201), and the European Standard (EC8). Extensive comparisons of the results obtained by the different codes (including the story displacement, the story drift, and the base shear) were undertaken; to assess the response of moment-resisting multi-story framed buildings under lateral loads. The results revealed that, for all study cases under consideration, both ECP-201 and EC8 gave smaller base shear, displacement, and drift by one third to one fourth, around one fourth, around one fifth, respectively for both the ELF and RSA methods if compared to ASCE 7-16 and UBC97.