• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1420-1427
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• 2023

Seismic risk has received increased attention since the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan. The seismic risk of a nuclear power plant is evaluated via seismic probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), for which several methods are available. Recently, the discrete approach has become widely used. This approximates the seismic risk by discretizing the ground motion level interval into a small number of subintervals with the expectation of providing a conservative result. The present study examines the effect of the number of subintervals upon the results of seismic risk quantification. It is demonstrated that a small number of subintervals may lead to either an underestimation or overestimation of the seismic risk depending on the ground motion level. The present paper also provides a method for finding the boundaries between overestimation and underestimation regions, and illustrates the effect of the number of subintervals upon the seismic risk evaluation with an example. By providing a method for determining the effect of a small number of subintervals upon the results of seismic risk quantification, the present study will assist seismic PSA analysts to determine the appropriate number of subintervals and to better understand seismic risk quantification.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2018.11a
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• pp.98-99
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• 2018

Seismic retrofitting technologies have been paid attention to structural engineers for rehabilitations of existing building structures vulnerable to seismic loading conditions. This paper introduces the traditional strengtheing method applying externally-bonded steel frames to column and beam elements, and compares with the improved scheme using the frames with additional energy dissipation systems. Throughout experimental studies, it was observed that the method can be effective for promoting the seismic performance of seismic force-resisting systems by guaranteeing strong column-weak beam mechanism. Compared to the traditional manner, it was found that the new scheme can be more efficient for confirming capacity design concept, while energy dissipation systems can provide additional damping effects corresponding to lateral deformation which occurs at seismic force-resisting systems exposed to seismic excitations.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.177-189
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• 2017

For energy-based seismic design, a simplified normalized cumulative hysteretic energy spectrum proposed for obtaining hysteretic energy as energy demand is the main objective in this paper. The dimensionless parameter, ${\beta}_{Eh}$, is presented to express hysteretic energy indirectly. The ${\beta}_{Eh}$ spectrum is constructed directly through subtracting the hysteretic energy of single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system energy equation. The simplified ${\beta}_{Eh}$ spectral formulation as well as pseudo-acceleration spectrum of modern seismic provisions is developed based on the regression analysis of the large number of seismic responses of SDOF system subjected to earthquake excitations, which considers the influence of earthquake event, soil type, damping ratio, and ductility factor. The relationship between PGV and PGA is established according to the statistical analysis relied on a total of 422 ground motion records. The combination of ${\beta}_{Eh}$ spectrum and PGV/PGA equation allows determining the cumulative hysteretic energy as a main aseismic design indicator.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.552-558
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• 2016

A control rod drive mechanism(CRDM) is a reactor regulating system, which inserts, withdraws or maintains a control rod within a reactor core to control the reactivity of the core. The CRDM for Jordan Research and Training Reactor with 5MW power has been designed and fabricated based on the HANARO’s experience through KAERI and DAEWOO consortium. This paper describes the seismic test results to demonstrate the operability, the drop performance and the structural integrity of CRDM during or after seismic excitations. The seismic tests are carried out under 5 OBE and 1 SSE loads at three Test Rigs simulating the reactor structure and the pool top. From the tests, the CRDM is smoothly driven without a malfunction of stepping motor under OBE load. The pure drop time under OBE and SSE loads is measured as 1.169s and 1.855s to meet the design requirement. Also, it is found that the CRDM maintains the structural integrity without a change of the function and natural frequency before and after seismic loads.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.1109-1114
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• 2022

The SMART (System-integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor) is an integral-type small modular reactor developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). This paper discusses the feasibility and applicability of a 3D-based equivalent model using dynamic condensation method for seismic analysis of a SMART control rod drive mechanism. The equivalent model is utilized for complicated seismic analysis during the design of the SMART. While the 1D-based beam-mass equivalent model is widely used in the nuclear industry for its calculation efficiency, the 3D-based equivalent model is suggested for the seismic analysis of SMART to enhance the analysis accuracy of the 1D-based equivalent model while maintaining its analysis efficiency. To verify the suggested model, acceleration response spectra from seismic analysis based on the 3D-based equivalent model are compared to those from the 1D-based beam-mass equivalent model and experiments. The accuracy and efficiency of the dynamic condensation method are investigated by comparison to analysis results based on the conventional modeling methodology used for seismic analysis.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.449-461
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• 2024

The vertical reinforcement connection between the precast reinforced concrete shear wall and the cast-in-place reinforced concrete member is vital to the performance of shear walls under seismic loading. This paper investigated the structural behavior of three precast reinforced concrete shear walls, with different levels of connection (i.e., full connection, partial connection, and no connection), subjected to quasi-static lateral loading. The specimens were subjected to a constant vertical load, resulting in an axial load ratio of 0.4. The crack pattern, failure modes, load-displacement relationships, ductility, and energy dissipation characteristics are presented and discussed. The resultant seismic performances of the three tested specimens were compared in terms of skeleton curve, load-bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, and viscous damping. The seismic performance of the partially connected shear wall was found to be comparable to that of the fully connected shear wall, exhibiting 1.7% and 3.5% higher yield and peak load capacities, 9.2% higher deformability, and similar variation in stiffness, energy dissipation capacity and viscous damping at increasing load levels. In comparison, the seismic performance of the non-connected shear wall was inferior, exhibiting 12.8% and 16.4% lower loads at the yield and peak load stages, 3.6% lower deformability, and significantly lower energy dissipation capacity at lower displacement and lower viscous damping.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.611-628
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• 2022

Energy-dissipative rocking (EDR) columns are a class of seismic mitigation device capable of dissipating seismic energy and preventing weak-story failure of moment resisting frames (MRFs). An EDR consists of two hinge-supported steel columns interconnected by steel dampers along its height. Under earthquakes, the input seismic energy can be dissipated by plastic energy of the steel dampers in the EDR column. However, the unrecoverable plastic deformation of steel dampers generally results in residual drifts in the structural system. This paper presents a proof-of-concept study on an innovative device, namely self-centring energy-dissipative rocking (SC-EDR) column, aiming at enabling self-centring capability of the EDR column by installing a set of shape memory alloy (SMA) tension braces. The working mechanism of the SC-EDR column is presented in detail, and the feasibility of the new device is carefully examined via experimental and numerical studies considering the parameters of the SMA bar diameter and the steel damper plate thickness. The seismic responses including load carrying capacities, stress distributions, base rocking behaviour, source of residual deformation, and energy dissipation are discussed in detail. A rational combination of the steel damper and the SMA tension braces can achieve excellent energy dissipation and self-centring performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2022

To develop high-efficiency lateral force resistance components for high-rise buildings, a novel energy dissipation shear wall with concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) column elements was proposed. An energy dissipation shear wall specimen with CFST column elements (GZSW) and an ordinary reinforced concrete shear wall (SW) were constructed, and experimented by low-cycle reversed loading. The mechanical characteristics of these two specimens, including the bearing capacity, ductility, energy dissipation, and stiffness degradation process, were analyzed. The finite-element model of the GZSW was established by ABAQUS. Based on this finite-element model, the effect of the placement of steel-plate energy dissipation connectors on the seismic performance of the shear wall was analyzed, and optimization was performed. The experiment results prove that, the GZSW exhibited a superior seismic performance in terms of bearing capacity, ductility, energy dissipation, and stiffness degradation, in comparison with the SW. The results calculated by the ABAQUS finite-elements model of GZSW corresponded well with the results of experiment, and it proved the rationality of the established finite-elements model. In addition, the optimal placement of the steel-plate energy dissipation connectors was obtained by ABAQUS.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.93-108
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• 2010

This paper investigates the seismic performance of existing reinforced concrete frames with wide beams mainly designed for gravity loads, as typically found in the seismic-prone Mediterranean area before the introduction of modern codes. The seismic capacity is evaluated in terms of the overall amount of input energy that the frame can dissipate/absorb up to collapse. This approach provides a quantitative evaluation that can be useful for selecting and designing an appropriate retrofit strategy. Six prototype frames representative of past construction practices in the southern part of Spain are designed, and the corresponding non-linear numerical models are developed and calibrated with purposely conducted tests on wide beam-column subassemblages. The models are subjected to sixteen earthquake records until collapse by applying the incremental dynamic analysis method. It is found that the ultimate energy dissipation capacity at the story level is markedly low (about 1.36 times the product of the lateral yield strength and yield displacement of the story), giving values for the maximum amount of energy that the frame can dissipate which are from one fourth to half of that required in moderate-seismicity regions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.922-929
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• 2019

This paper presents the drop performance test of the control rod assembly which is one of the main components strongly related to the safety of the prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor. To investigate the drop performance, a real-sized control rod assembly that was recently modified based on the drop analysis results was newly fabricated, and several free drop tests under different flow rate conditions were carried out. Then the results were compared with those obtained from the previous tests conducted on the conceptually designed control rod assembly to demonstrate the improvement in performance. Moreover, the drop performance tests under several types and magnitudes of seismic loadings were also conducted to investigate the effect of the seismic loading on the drop performance of the modified control rod assembly. The results showed that the effects of the type and magnitude of the seismic loading on the drop performance of the modified control rod assembly were not significant. Also, the drop time requirement was successfully satisfied, even under the seismic loading conditions.