• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.33-43
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• 2011

This paper addresses a fundamental study that is necessary to complement and improve the current domestic design specifications for the strong motion duration criterion and the envelope function of artificial accelerograms that can be applied to the earthquake-proof design of nuclear structures. The criteria for the design response spectra and strong motion duration suggested by USNRC and ASCE Standard 4-98 are commonly being used in the profession, and they are first compared with each other and reviewed. By applying 209 real strong earthquake records that are greater than 5 in magnitude at rock sites to the strong motion duration criterion in ASCE 4-98, an empirical regression model that predicts the strong motion duration as a function of the earthquake magnitude was then developed. Using synthetically generated earthquake time histories for the 10 cases whose strong motion durations varied from 6 to 20 seconds, extensive seismic analyses were finally conducted to identify the effects of the strong motion durations on the seismic responses of the nuclear power plant containment structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.1438-1445
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the fundamental frequency of the dam by the various methods using real microearthquake records which were measured on 'H' dam site and to compare each results. In this study, the fundamental frequency was evaluated by the frequency analysis of the microearthquake records which were measured on the dam crest, by the evaluation of acceleration amplification ratio between the foundation and the crest of dam, and by the evaluation of acceleration response spectrum ratio between the foundation and the crest of dam, respectively. Among these methods, it was found that the method by the evaluation of acceleration response spectrum ratio between the foundation and the crest of dam was the most effective method. But, if the simple engineering judgement can be considered, it was thought that the all three methods could reasonably evaluate the fundamental frequency of the dam.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.133-143
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• 2015

It is very important to assure the seismic performance of equipment as well as building structures in seismic design of nuclear power plant(NPP). Seismically isolated structures may be reviewed mainly on the horizontal seismic responses. Considering the equipment installed in the NPP, the vertical earthquake responses of the structure also should be reviewed. This study has investigated the vertical seismic demand of seismically isolated structure by lead rubber bearings(LRBs). For the numerical evaluation of seismic demand of the base isolated NPP, the Korean standard nuclear power plant (APR1400) is modeled as 4 different models, which are supported by LRBs to have 4 different horizontal target periods. Two real earthquake records and artificially generated input motions have been used as inputs for earthquake analyses. For the study, the vertical floor response spectra(FRS) were generated at the major points of the structure. As a results, the vertical seismic responses of horizontally isolated structure have largely increased due to flexibility of elastomeric isolator. The vertical stiffness of the bearings are more carefully considered in the seismic design of the base-isolated NPPs which have the various equipment inside.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.5
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• pp.589-605
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• 2023

This paper investigates the ductility demands of steel frames equipped with self-centring fuses under near-fault earthquake motions considering multiple yielding stages. The study is commenced by verifying a trilinear self-centring hysteretic model accounting for multiple yielding stages of steel frames equipped with self-centring fuses. Then, the seismic response of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems following the validated trilinear self-centring hysteretic law is examined by a parametric study using a near-fault earthquake ground motion database composed of 200 earthquake records as input excitations. Based on a statistical investigation of more than fifty-two (52) million inelastic spectral analyses, the effect of the post-yield stiffness ratios, energy dissipation coefficient and yielding displacement ratio on the mean ductility demand of the system is examined in detail. The analysis results indicate that the increase of post-yield stiffness ratios, energy dissipation coefficient and yielding displacement ratio reduces the ductility demands of the self-centring oscillators responding in multiple yielding stages. A set of empirical expressions for quantifying the ductility demands of trilinear self-centring hysteretic oscillators are developed using nonlinear regression analysis of the analysis result database. The proposed regression model may offer a practical tool for designers to estimate the ductility demand of a low-to-medium rise self-centring steel frame equipped with self-centring fuses progressing in the ultimate stage under near-fault earthquake motions in design and evaluation.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.39-50
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• 2009

In this paper, a method for reducing seismic responses of adjacent buildings is studied that involves connecting two buildings with energy-dissipating devices, such as MR dampers. For the vibration control of the adjacent buildings, a fuzzy control technique with semi-active MR dampers is proposed. A fuzzy controller, which can appropriately modulate the damping forces by controlling the input voltage in real time, is designed according to the proposed method. To verify the validity of the proposed method, numerical simulations are performed. In the numerical simulations, historical earthquake records with diverse frequency contents and different peak values are used. For the purpose of comparison, an uncontrolled system, a passive control system and a semi-active fuzzy control system are considered. The comparative results prove the effectiveness of the proposed control technique, i.e. the numerical results show that the fuzzy controlled semi-active MR dampers can effectively reduce the earthquake responses of the adjacent structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.963-995
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• 2015

The effectiveness of the various control algorithms for semi-active structural control systems proposed in the literature is highly questionable when dealing with earthquake actions, which never reach a steady state. From this perspective, the paper summarizes the results of an experimental activity aimed to compare the effectiveness of four different semi-active control algorithms on a structural mock up representative of a class of structural systems particularly prone to seismic actions. The controlled structure is a near full scale 2-story steel frame, equipped with two semi-active bracing systems including two magnetorheological dampers designed and manufactured in Europe. A set of earthquake records has been applied at the base of the structure, by utilizing a shaking table facility. Experimental results are compared in terms of displacements, absolute accelerations and energy dissipation capability. A further analysis on the percentage incidence of undesired and/or unpredictable operations corresponding to each algorithm gives an insight on some factors affecting the reliability and, in turn, the real effectiveness of semi-active structural control systems.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.39-56
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• 2010

Structural Control relies, with a great deal, on the ability of the control algorithm to identify the current state of the system, at any given point in time. When such algorithms are designed to perform in a smart manner, several smart technologies/devices are called upon to perform tasks that involve pattern recognition and control. Smart pattern recognition is proposed to replace/enhance traditional state identification techniques, which require the extensive manipulation of intricate mathematical equations. Smart pattern recognition techniques attempt to emulate the behavior of the human brain when performing abstract pattern identification. Since these techniques are largely heuristic in nature, it is reasonable to ensure their reliability under real life situations. In this paper, a neural network pattern recognition scheme is explored. The pattern identification of three structural systems is considered. The first is a single bay three-story frame. Both the second and the third models are variations on benchmark problems, previously published for control strategy evaluation purposes. A Neural Network was developed and trained to identify the deformed shape of structural systems under earthquake excitation. The network was trained, for each individual model system, then tested under the effect of a different set of earthquake records. The proposed smart pattern identification scheme is considered an integral component of a Smart Structural System. The Reliability assessment of such component represents an important stage in the evaluation of an overall reliability measure of Smart Structural Systems. Several studies are currently underway aiming at the identification of a reliability measure for such smart pattern recognition technique.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.109-120
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• 2017

The behavior of moment resistant steel structures depends on both the beam-column connections and columns foundations connections. Obviously, if the connections can meet the adequate ductility and resistance against lateral loads, the seismic capacity of these structures will be linked practically to the performance of these connections. The shape memory alloys (SMAs) have been most recently used as a means of energy dissipation in buildings. The main approach adopted by researchers in the use of such alloys is firstly bracing, and secondly connecting the beams to columns. Additionally, the behavior of these alloys is modeled in software applications rarely involving equivalent torsional springs and column-foundation connections. This paper attempts to introduce the shape memory alloys and their applications in steel structural connections, proposing a new steel column-foundation connection, not merely a theoretical model but practically a realistic and applicable model in structures. Moreover, it entails the same functionality as macro modeling software based on real behavior, which can use different materials to establish a connection between the columns and foundations. In this paper, the suggested steel column-foundation connection was introduced. Moreover, exploring the seismic dynamic behavior under cyclic loading protocols and the famous earthquake records with different materials such as steel and interconnection equipment by superelastic shape memory alloys have been investigated. Then, the results were compared to demonstrate that such connections are ideal against the seismic behavior and energy dissipation.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1449-1466
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• 2015

Mixed structures consist of two parts: a lower part and an upper part. The lower part is usually made of concrete while the upper part is made of steel. Analyzing these structures is complicated and code-based design of them has many associated problems. In this research, the seismic behavior of mixed structures which have reinforced concrete frames and shear walls in their lower storeys and steel frames with bracing in their upper storeys were studied. For this purpose, seventeen structures in three groups of 5, 9 and 15 storey structures with different numbers of concrete and steel storeys were designed. Static pushover analysis, linear dynamic analysis and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) using 15 earthquake records were performed by OpenSees software. Seismic parameters such as period, response modification factor and ductility factor were then obtained for the mixed (hybrid) structures using more than 4600 nonlinear dynamic analysis and used in the regression analysis for achieving proper formula. Finally, some formulas, effective in designing such structures, are presented for the mentioned parameters. According to the results obtained from this research, the response modification factor values of mixed structures are lower compared to those of steel or concrete ones with the same heights. This fact might be due to the irregularities of stiffness, mass, etc., at different heights of the structure. It should be mentioned that for the first time, the performance and seismic response of such structures were studied against real earthquake accelerations using nonlinear dynamic analysis, andresponse modification factor was obtained by IDA.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.59-75
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• 2024

This paper presents a dam-reservoir interaction model that includes, water compressibility, sloshing of surface water, and radiation damping at the far-end reservoir, to investigate the influence of concrete deterioration on seismic behavior along with seismic performance of gravity dams. Investigations on seismic performance of the dam body have been conducted using the linear time-history responses obtained under six real and 0.3 g normalized earthquake records with time durations from 10 sec to 80 sec. The deterioration of concrete is assumed to develop due to mechanical and chemical actions over the dam lifespan. Several computer programs have been developed in FORTRAN 90 and MATLAB programming languages to analyze the coupled problem considering two-dimensional (2D) plane-strain condition. According to the results obtained from this study, the dam structure shows critical responses at the later ages (75 years) that could cause disastrous consequences; the critical effects of some earthquake loads such as Chi-Chi with 36.5% damage and Loma with 56.2% damage at the later ages of the selected dam body cannot be negligible; and therefore, the deterioration of concrete along with its effects on the dam response should be considered in analysis and design.