• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2018

This paper reports an experimental study that was accomplished to assess the seismic behavior of steel tube reinforced concrete bridge columns (SBCs). The motivation of this study was to verify a supposition that the core steel tube may be terminated at a rational position in the column to minimize the material cost while maintaining the seismic behavior of this composite column. Four SBC specimens were tested under combined constant axial load and cyclic reversed lateral loads. The unique variable in the test matrix was the core steel tube embedment length, which ranged from 1/3 to 3/3 of the column effective height. It is observed that SBCs showed two distinctly different failure patterns, namely brittle shear failure and ductile flexural failure. Tests results indicate that the hysteretic responses of SBCs were susceptible to the core steel tube embedment length. With the increase of this structural parameter, the lateral strength of SBC was progressively improved; the deformability and ductility, however, exhibited a tendency of first increase and then decrease. It is also found that in addition to maintained the rate of stiffness degradation and cumulative energy dissipation basically unchanged, both the ductility and deformability of SBC were significantly improved when the core steel tube was terminated at the mid-height of the column, and these were the most unexpected benefits accompanied with material cost reduction.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2000

Experiments were carried out to investigate the seismic behaviors, such as lateral strength, ductility and energy-dissipation capacity. of high-strength concrete (HSC) square short column confined in thin steel shell. The primary objective of the study was to investigate the suitability of using HSC square columns confined in thin steel shell in region of moderate-to-high seismic risk. A total of six columns, consisting of two ordinarily reinforced concrete square short columns and four reinforced concrete square short columns confined in thin steel shell was tested. Column specimens, short columns in a moment resisting frame with girder. were tested under a constant axial and reversed cyclic lateral loads. To design the specimens. transverse reinforcing methods, level of axial load applied, and the steel tube width-thickness ratio (D/t) were chosen as main parameters. Test results were also discussed and compared in the light of improvements in general behaviors, ductility, and energy-absorption capacities. Compared to conventionally reinforced concrete columns, the HSC columns confined in thin steel shell had similar load-displacement hysteretic behavior but exhibited greater energy-dissipation characteristics . It is concluded that, in strong earthquake areas, the transverse reinforcing method by using a thin steel shell (D/t=125) is quite effective to make HSC short columns with very strong and ductile.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.19-35
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• 2015

This study compares the seismic performances of two reinforced concrete frame specimens tested by the pseudo-dynamic procedure. The pair of 3-storey, 3-bay frames specimens are constructed with typical characteristics of older construction which is lacking seismic design. One of the specimens is a bare frame while the other is infilled with low-strength autoclave aerated concrete (AAC) block masonry. The focus of this study is to investigate the influence of low strength masonry infill walls on the seismic response of older RC frames designed for gravity loads. It is found that the presence of weak infill walls considerably reduce deformations and damage in the upper stories while their influence at the critical ground story is not all that positive. Infill walls tend to localize damage at the critical story due to a peculiar frame-infill interaction, and impose larger internal force and deformation demands on the columns and beams bounding the infills. Therefore the general belief in earthquake engineering that infills develop a second line of defence against lateral forces in seismically deficient frames is nullified in case of low-strength infill walls in the presented experimental research.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1297-1305
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• 2018

The corrugated steel plate shear walls have recently been proposed to address the seismic issues associated with simple steel plate shear walls; however, stiffness, strength, and ductility of the corrugated shear walls are significantly affected by varying the corrugation geometry under seismic loading. The present study investigates steel shear walls' models with corrugated or simple infill plates subjected to monotonic and cyclic loads. The performance of the corrugated steel plate is evaluated and then compared to that of the simple steel plates by evaluating the damping ratios and energy dissipation capability. The effect of corrugation profile angle, the existence of an opening, and the corrugation subpanel length are numerically investigated after validation of the finite element modeling methodology. The results demonstrate that incorporating corrugated plates would lead to better seismic damping ratios, specifically in the case of opening existence inside of the infill plate. Specifically, the corrugation angle of $30^{\circ}$ decreases the ultimate strength, while increasing the initial stiffness and ductility. In addition, the subpanel length of 100 mm is found to be able to improve the overall performance of shear wall by providing each subpanel appropriate support for the adjacent subpanel, leading to a sufficient buckling resistance performance.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.2
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• pp.219-230
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• 2021

International seismic codes stipulate that adjacent buildings should be separated by a specified minimum distance, otherwise the pounding effect should be considered in the design. Recent researches proposed an alternative method (Double Difference Combination Rule) to estimate seismic gap between structures, as this method considers the cross relation of adjacent buildings behavior during earthquakes. Four different criteria were used to calculate the minimum separation distance using this method and results are compared to the international codes for five separation cases. These cases used four case study buildings classified by different heights, lateral load resisting systems and fundamental periods of vibrations to assess the consistency in results for the alternative methods. Non-linear analysis was performed to calculate the inelastic displacements of the four buildings, and the results were used to evaluate the relation between elastic and inelastic displacements due to the ductility of structural elements resisting seismic loads. A verification analysis was conducted to guarantee that the separation distance calculated is sufficient to avoid pounding. Results shows that the use of two out of the four studied methods yields separation distances smaller than that calculated by the code specified equations without under-estimating the minimum separation distance required to avoid pounding.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.747-764
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• 2022

The design codes and calculation methods related to soil-steel composite bridges and culverts only specify the minimum soil cover depth. This value is connected with the bridge span and shell height. In the case of static and dynamic loads (like passing vehicles), such approach seems to be quite reasonable. However, it is important to know how the soil cover depth affects the behaviour of soil-steel composite bridges under seismic excitation. This paper presents the results of a numerical study of soil-steel bridges with different soil cover depths (1.00, 2.00, 2.40, 3.00, 4.00, 5.00, 6.00 and 7.00 m) under seismic excitation. In addition, the same soil cover depths with different boundary conditions of the soil-steel bridge were analysed. The analysed bridge has two closed pipe-arches in its cross section. The load-carrying structure was constructed as two shells assembled from corrugated steel plate sheets, designed with a depth of 0.05 m, pitch of 0.15 m, and plate thickness of 0.003 m. The shell span is 4.40 m, and the shell height is 2.80 m. Numerical analysis was conducted using the DIANA programme based on the finite element method. A nonlinear model with El Centro records and the time history method was used to analyse the problem.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2023

Reinforced concrete flat slab (RCFS) with columns is a standard gravity floor system for tall buildings in North America. Typically, RCFS-column connections are designed to resist gravity loads, and their contribution to resisting seismic forces is ignored. However, past experimental research has shown that RCFS-column connections have some strength and ductility, which may not be ignored. Advanced numerical models have been developed in the past to determine the nonlinear cyclic behavior of RCFS-column connections. However, these models are either too complicated for nonlinear dynamic analysis of an entire building or not developed to model the behavior of modern RCFS-column connections. This paper proposes a new nonlinear model suitable for modern RCFS-column connections. The numerical model is verified using experimental data of specimens with various material and reinforcement properties. A 40-story RC shear wall building was designed and analyzed to investigate the influence of RCFS on the global response of tall concrete buildings. The seismic responses of the building with and without the RCFS were modelled and compared. The results show that the modelling of RCFS has a significant impact on the inter-story drifts and force demands on both the seismic force-resisting and gravity elements.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.381-396
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• 2023

The present paper evaluates seismic bearing capacity of rock masses subjected to loads of strip footings using the upper bound method. A general formula was proposed to evaluate the seismic bearing capacity considering both the horizontal and vertical accelerations of the earthquake and the effects of footing embedment depth simultaneously. Modified Hoek-Brown failure criterion was employed for the rock mass. Some comparisons were made with the available solutions and the finite element numerical models to show the accuracy of the developed upper bound formulations. The obtained results show significant improvement compared to the other available solutions. By increasing the horizontal earthquake acceleration from 0.1 to 0.3, the bearing capacity was reduced by up to 39%, while the effect of the vertical earthquake acceleration depends on its direction. An upward acceleration in the range of zero to 0.2 results in an increase in the bearing capacity by up to 24%, while the downward earthquake acceleration has an adverse effect. Also, by increasing the embedment depth of the footing from zero to 5 times the footing width, the value of seismic bearing capacity was raised about 86%. The obtained results were presented as design tables for use in practical applications.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.99-112
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• 2023

This paper investigates the influences of Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) on the seismic behavior of two-dimensional reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames subjected to Far-Field Ground Motion (FFGM) and Near-Field Ground Motion (NFGM). For this purpose, the nonlinear modeling of 7, 10, and 15-story reinforced concrete moment resisting frames were developed in Open Systems for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (OpenSees) software. Effects of SSI were studied by simulating Beam on Nonlinear Winkler Foundation (BNWF) and the soil type as homogenous medium-dense. Generally, the building resistance to seismic loads can be explained in terms of Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA); therefore, IDA curves are presented in this study. For comparison, the fragility evaluation is subjected to NFGM and FFGM as proposed by Quantification of Building Seismic Performance Factors (FEMA P-695). The seismic performance of Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings with fixed and flexible foundations was evaluated to assess the probability of collapse. The results of this paper demonstrate that SSI and NFGM have significantly influenced the probability of failure of the RC frames. In particular, the flexible-base RC buildings experience higher Spectral acceleration (Sa) compared to the fixed-base ones subjected to FFGM and NFGM.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.319-328
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• 2022

Ensuring the integrity of a country's infrastructure is necessary to protect surrounding communities in case of disaster. Embankment dam systems across the US are an essential component of infrastructure, referred to as lifeline structures. Embankment dams are crucial to the survival of life and if these structures were to fail, it is imperative that states be prepared. Southern California is particularly concerned with the stability of embankment dams due to the frequent seismic activity that occurs in the state. The purpose of this study was to create a numerical model of an existing embankment dam simulated under seismic loads using previously recorded data. The embankment dam that was studied in Los Angeles, California was outfitted with accelerometers provided by the California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program that have recorded strong motion data for decades and was processed by the Center for Engineering Strong Motion Data to be used in future engineering applications. The accelerometer data was then used to verify the numerical model that was created using finite element modeling software RS2. The results from this study showed Puddingstone Dam's simulated response was consistent with that experienced during previous earthquakes and therefore validated the predicted behavior from the numerical model. The study also identified areas of weakness and instability on the dam that posed the greatest risk for its failure. Following this study, the numerical model can now be used to predict the dam's response to future earthquakes, develop plans for its remediation, and for emergency response in case of disaster.