• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.667-689
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• 2014

Structural walls (also known as shear walls) are one of the common lateral load resisting elements in reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in seismic regions. The performance of RC structural walls in recent earthquakes has exposed some problems with the existing design of RC structural walls. The main issues lie around the buckling of bars, out-of plane deformation of the wall (especially the zone deteriorated in compression), reinforcement getting snapped beneath a solitary thin crack etc. This study compares performance of a typical wall designed by different standards. For this purpose, a case study RC shear wall is taken from the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Christchurch which was designed according to the 1982 version of the New Zealand concrete structures standard (NZS3101:1982). The wall is redesigned in this study to comply with the detailing requirements of three standards; ACI-318-11, NZS3101:2006 and Eurocode 8 in such a way that they provide the same flexural and shear capacity. Based on section analysis and pushover analysis, nonlinear responses of the walls are compared in terms of their lateral load capacity and curvature as well as displacement ductilities, and the effect of the code limitations on nonlinear responses of the different walls are evaluated. A parametric study is also carried out to further investigate the effect of confinement length and axial load ratio on the lateral response of shear walls.

• 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.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.957-981
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• 2015

Earthquakes occur as a cluster in many regions around the world where complex fault systems exist. The repeated shaking usually induces accumulative damage to affected structures. Damage accumulation in structural systems increases their level of degradation in stiffness and also reduces their strength. Many existing analytical tools of modeling RC structures lack the salient damage features that account for stiffness and strength degradation resulting from repeated earthquake loading. Therefore, these tools are inadequate to study the response of structures in regions prone to multiple earthquakes hazard. The objective of this paper is twofold: (a) develop a tool that contains appropriate damage features for the numerical analysis of RC structures subjected to more than one earthquake; and (b) conduct a parametric study that investigates the effects of multiple earthquakes on the response of RC moment resisting frame systems. For this purpose, macroscopic constitutive models of concrete and steel materials that contain the aforementioned damage features and are capable of accurately capturing materials degrading behavior, are selected and implemented into fiber-based finite element software. Furthermore, finite element models that utilize the implemented concrete and steel stress-strain hysteresis are developed. The models are then subjected to selected sets of earthquake sequences. The results presented in this study clearly indicate that the response of degrading structural systems is appreciably influenced by strong-motion sequences in a manner that cannot be predicted from simple analysis. It also confirms that the effects of multiple earthquakes on earthquake safety can be very considerable.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.79-86
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• 2010

This study was performed to evaluate the flexural behavior of Hybrid fiber sheet (HFC) and Hybrid fiber bar (HFB) strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams. According to test results, Hybrid fiber reinforcement strengthened RC beams showed approximately 60 to 200% higher reinforcing effects than that of un-reinforced specimens. In addition, the reinforced beams showed the ideal failure pattern, which is failed presenting the ductile behavior after yielding of the reinforcing bar. More specifically, in the case of HFB reinforced RC beams, the difference with puttying method was not apparent since HFB beams reinforced using the injection of epoxy and bonding of putty showed the similar failure patterns.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.103-110
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• 2019

In order to reduce the accidents occurring at construction sites, it is necessary to approach with harmonious measures considering various aspects such as systems, training, facilities, and protection equipments. Suggestion of safe construction method can be a good alternative. In the previous study, the half-depth precast deck with RC rib panel was proposed as an alternative method for safe bridge deck construction, and the performance required by the design code was verified through a four-point bending test. But the actual bridge deck is subjected to the repetitive action of the wheel load rather than the bending condition due to the four-point load. In this study, fatigue test was performed by repeating the wheel load $2{\times}10^6$ cycles to verify the safety of the half-depth precast deck with RC rib panel under actual conditions. As a result, fatigue effect due to repetition of wheel load was not significant in terms of serviceability such as crack width and deflection. In the residual strength test conducted after the fatigue test, the half-depth precast deck with RC rib panel failed by punching shear which is typical failure mode of bridge decks and the residual strength was similar to the punching strength of the RC and PSC bridge decks in spite of the fatigue effects.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.5
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• pp.637-650
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• 2021

The paper presents an investigation of the widely varying mechanical performance and behaviour of steel and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) reinforced concrete beams using non-destructive techniques of Acoustic Emission (AE) and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) under four-point bending. Laboratory experiments are performed on both differently reinforced concrete beams with 0.33%, 0.52% and 1.11% of tension reinforcement against balanced section. The results show that the ultimate load-carrying capacity increases with an increase in tensile reinforcement in both cases. In addition to that, AE waveform parameters of amplitude and number of AE hits successfully correlates and picks up the divergent mechanism of cracking initiation and progression of failure in steel reinforced and GFRP reinforced concrete beams. AE activity is about 20-30% more in GFRP-RC beams as compared to steel-RC beams. It was primarily due to the lower modulus of elasticity of GFRP bars leading to much larger ductility and deflections as compared to steel-RC beams. Furthermore, AE XY event plots and longitudinal strain profiles using DIC gives an online and real-time visual display of progressive AE activity and strains respectively to efficaciously depict the crack evolution and their advancement in steel-RC and GFRP-RC beams which show a close matching with the micro-and macro-cracks visually observed in the actual beams at various stages of loading.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.80 no.5
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• pp.585-594
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• 2021

Ductility is very important parameter in seismic design of RC members such as beams where it allows RC beams to dissipate the seismic energy. In this field, the curvature ductility has taken a large part of interest compared to the deflection ductility. For this reason, the present paper aims to propose a general formula for predicting the deflection ductility factor of RC beams under mid-span load. Firstly, the moment area theorem is used to develop a model in order to calculate the yield and the ultimate deflections; then this model is validated by using some results extracted from previous researches. Secondly, a general formula of deflection ductility factor is written based on the developed deflection expressions. The new formula is depended on curvature ductility factor, beam length, and plastic hinge length. To facilitate the use of this formula, a parametric study on the curvature ductility factor is conducted in order to write it in simple manner without the need for curvature calculations. Therefore, the deflection ductility factor can be directly calculated based on beam length, plastic hinge length, concrete strength, reinforcement ratios, and yield strength of steel reinforcement. Finally, the new formula of deflection ductility factor is compared with the model previously developed based on the moment area theorem. The results show the good performance of the new formula.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.691-705
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• 2022

Shear failure in reinforced concrete (RC) structures is very hazardous. This failure is rarely predicted and may occur without any prior signs. Accurate shear strength prediction of the RC members is challenging, and traditional methods have difficulty solving it. This study develops a JAYA-GBRT model based on the JAYA algorithm and the gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT) to predict the shear strength of RC slender beams without stirrups. Firstly, 484 tests are carefully collected and divided into training and test sets. Then, the hyperparameters of the GBRT model are determined using the JAYA algorithm and 10-fold cross-validation. The performance of the JAYA-GBRT model is compared with five well-known empirical models. The comparative results show that the JAYA-GBRT model (R² = 0.982, RMSE = 9.466 kN, MAE = 6.299 kN, µ = 1.018, and Cov = 0.116) outperforms the other models. Moreover, the predictions of the JAYA-GBRT model are globally and locally explained using the Shapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) method. The effective depth is determined as the most crucial parameter influencing the shear strength through the SHAP method. Finally, a Graphic User Interface (GUI) tool and a web application (WA) are developed to apply the JAYA-GBRT model for rapidly predicting the shear strength of RC slender beams without stirrups.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.155-162
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• 2016

Observations of the damages to high-rise reinforced concrete (RC) wall building structures caused by by recent earthquakes in Chile ($M_w$ 8.8, February 2010) and New Zealand (February 2011, $M_L$ 6.3) have generally exceeded expectations. Firstly, this study estimated the seismic damage levels of 15-story RC box-type wall building structures using the analytical models calibrated by the results of a shaking table test on a 1:5 scale 10-story RC box-type wall building model. Then, the seismic fragility analysis of the prototype model was conducted by using the SAC/FEMA method and the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). To compensate for the uncertainties and variability of ground motion and its impacts on the prototype model, in the SAC/FEMA method, a total of 61 ground motion records were selected from 20 earthquakes, with a magnitude ranging from 5.9 to 8.8 and an epicentral distance ranging from 5 to 105km. In the IDA, a total of 11 ground motion records were used based on the uniform hazard response spectrum representing a return period of 2,475 years. As a result, the probabilities that the limits of the serviceability, damage control, and collapse prevention would be exceeded were as follows: from the SAC/FEMA method: 79%, 0.3%, and 0%, respectively; and from the IDA: 57%, 1.7%, and 0%, respectively.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.3
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• pp.399-415
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• 2023

This paper presents the experimental and numerical evaluations on the circular SFRC columns reinforced GFRP rebars under the axial compressive loading. The test programs were designed to inquire and compare the effects of different parameters on the columns' structural behavior by performing experiments and finite element modeling. The research variables were conventional concrete (CC), fiber concrete (FC), types of longitudinal steel/GFRP rebars, and different configurations of lateral rebars. A total of 16 specimens were manufactured and categorized into four groups based on different rebar-concrete arrangements including GRCC, GRFC, SRCC, and SRFC. Adding steel fibers (SFs) into the concrete, it was essential to modify the concrete damage plastic (CDP) model for FC columns presented in the finite element method (FEM) using ABAQUS 6.14 software. Failure modes of the columns were similar and results of peak loads and corresponding deflections of compression columns showed a suitable agreement in tests and numerical analysis. The behavior of GFRP-RC and steel-RC columns was relatively linear in the pre-peak branch, up to 80-85% of their ultimate axial compressive loads. The axial compressive loads of GRCC and GRFC columns were averagely 80.5% and 83.6% of axial compressive loads of SRCC and SRFC columns. Also, DIs of GRCC and GRFC columns were 7.4% and 12.9% higher than those of SRCC and SRFC columns. Partially, using SFs compensated up to 3.1%, the reduction of the compressive strength of the GFRP-RC columns as compared with the steel-RC columns. The effective parameters on increasing the DIs of columns were higher volumetric ratios (up to 12%), using SFs into concrete (up to 6.6%), and spiral (up to 5.5%). The results depicted that GFRP-RC columns had higher DIs and lower peak loads compared with steel-RC columns.