• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.223-236
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• 2017

Seismic assessment and rehabilitation of Monumental Buildings constitute an important issue in many regions around the world to preserve cultural heritage. On the contrary, many recent earthquakes have demonstrated the high vulnerability of this type of structures. The high nonlinear masonry behaviour requires ad hoc refined finite element numerical models, whose complexity and computational costs are generally unsuitable for practical applications. For these reasons, several authors proposed simplified numerical strategies to be used in engineering practice. However, most of these alternative methods are oversimplified being based on the assumption of in-plane behaviour of masonry walls. Moreover, they cannot be used for modelling the monumental structures for which the interaction between plane and out-plane behaviour governs the structural response. Recently, an innovative discrete-modelling approach for the simulation of both in-plane and out of-plane response of masonry structures was proposed and applied to study several typologies of historic structures. In this paper the latter model is applied with reference to a real case study, and numerically compared with an advanced finite element modelling. The method is applied to the St.Venerio church in Reggiolo (Italy), damaged during the 2012 Emilia-Romagna earthquake and numerically investigated in the literature.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.419-429
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• 2018

The seismic vulnerability analysis of multi-span bridges can be based on the response of the piers, provided that deck, bearings and foundations remain elastic. The lateral response of an RC bridge pier can be affected by different mechanisms (i.e., flexure, shear, lap-splice or buckling of the longitudinal reinforcement bars, second order effects). In the literature, simplified formulations are available for mechanisms different from the flexure. On the other hand, the flexural response is usually calculated with a numerically-based Moment-Curvature diagram of the base section and equivalent plastic hinge length. The goal of this paper is to propose a simplified analytical solution to obtain the Moment-Curvature relationship for hollow circular RC sections. This based on calibrated polynomials, fitted against a database comprising 720 numerical Moment-Curvature analyses. The section capacity curve is defined through the position of 6 characteristic points and they are based on four input parameters: void ratio of the hollow section, axial force ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, transversal reinforcement ratio. A case study RC bridge pier is assessed with the proposed solution and the results are compared to a refined numerical FEM analysis, showing good match.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.2
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• pp.211-227
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• 2020

The contribution of infill wall is generally not considered in the structural analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to the lack of knowledge of the complex behavior of the infilled frame of RC structures. However, one of the significant factors affecting structural behavior and earthquake performance of RC structures is the infill wall. Considering structural and architectural features of RC structures, any infill wall may have openings with different amounts and aspect ratios. In the present study, the influence of infill walls with different opening rates on the structural behaviors and earthquake performance of existing RC structures were evaluated. Therefore, the change in the opening ratio in the infill wall has been investigated for monitoring the change in structural behavior and performance of the RC structures. The earthquake performance levels of existing RC structures with different structural properties were determined by detecting the damage levels of load-carrying components. The results of the analyzes indicate that the infill wall can completely change the distribution of column and beam damage level. It was observed that the openings in the walls had serious impact on the parameters affecting the behavior and earthquake performance of the RC structures. The infill walls have a beneficial effect on the earthquake performance of RC structures, provided they are placed regularly and there are appropriate openings rate throughout the RC structures and they do not cause structural irregularities.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.205-219
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• 2019

In Peru, construction of dwellings using confined masonry walls (CM) has a high percentage of acceptance within many sectors of the population. It is estimated that only in Lima, 80% of the constructions use CM and at least 70% of these are informal constructions. This mean that they are built without proper technical advice and generally have a high seismic vulnerability. One way to reduce this vulnerability is by reinforcing the walls. However, despite the existence of some reinforcement methods in the market, not all of them can be applied massively because there are other parameters to take into account, as economical, criteria for seismic improvement, reinforcement ratio, etc. Therefore, in this paper the feasibility of using five reinforcement techniques has been studied and compared. These reinforcements are: welded mesh (WM), glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), steel bar wire mesh (CSM), steel reinforced grout (SRG). The Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method can be useful to evaluate the most optimal strengthening technique for a fast, effective and massive use plan in Peru. The results of using MCDM with 10 criteria indicate that the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Steel Reinforced Grout (SRG) methods are the most suitable for a massive reinforcement application in Lima.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2005

Recent earthquakes over magnitude 5 in the eastern coast of Korea have aroused interests in the earthquake analyses and seismic design of breakwater structures. Most of earthquake analysis methods such as equivalent static analysis, response spectrum analysis, nonlinear analysis, and capacity analysis methods are deterministic and have been used for seismic design and performance evaluation of breakwater structures. However, deterministic methods are difficult to reflect one of the most important characteristics of earthquakes, i.e. the uncertainty of earthquakes. This paper presents results of probabilistic seismic risk assessment(PSRA) of an actual caisson type breakwater structure considering uncertainties of earthquake occurrences and soil properties. First the seismic vulnerability of a structure and the seismic hazard of the site are evaluated using earthquake sets and seismic hazard map, and then seismic risk of the structure is assessed.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.87-105
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• 2023

Seismic regulations have been updated from time to time to accommodate an increase in seismic hazards. Comparison of seismic fragility of the existing bridges in Indonesia from different historical periods since the era before 1990 will be the basis for seismic assessment of the bridge stock in Indonesia, most of which are located in earthquake-prone areas, especially those built many years ago with outdated regulations. In this study, seismic fragility curves were developed using incremental non-linear time history analysis and more holistically according to the actual strength of concrete and steel material in Indonesia to determine the uncertainty factor of structural capacity, βc. From the research that has been carried out, based on the current seismic load in SNI 2833:2016/Seismic Map 2017 (7% probability of exceedance in 75 years), the performance level of the bridge in the era before SNI 2833:2016 was Operational-Life Safety whereas the performance level of the bridge designed with SNI 2833:2016 was Elastic - Operational. The potential for more severe damage occurs in greater earthquake intensity. Collapse condition occurs at As = F_PGA x PGA value of bridge Era I = 0.93 g; Era II = 1.03 g; Era III = 1.22 g; Era IV = 1.54 g. Furthermore, the fragility analysis was also developed with geometric variations in the same bridge class to see the effect of these variations on the fragility, which is the basis for making bridge risk maps in Indonesia.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.13-26
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• 1998

In view of the rapid development of economics and technology, perilous meteorological and geological conditions often cause natural disasters and result in severe loss of lives and properties in Taiwan. To promote multi-hazard mitigation strategies in an integrated a, pp.oach, the National Science Council established a National Science and Technology Program for Disaster Mitigation in January 1998. This program emphasizes on the implementation of research results in the National Disaster Management System. This paper describes the earthquake loss estimation methodology that is currently developed in Taiwan. Topics of potential earth science hazards (PESH) and building vulnerability analysis are described in detail.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.367-380
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• 2005

Recent earthquakes have shown that many of existing buildings in Iran sustain heavy damage due to defective seismic details. To assess vulnerability of one common type of buildings, which consists of low rise framed concrete structures, three defective and three standard columns have been tested under reversed cyclic load. The substandard specimens suffered in average 37% loss of strength and 45% loss of energy dissipation capacity relative to standard specimens, and this was mainly due to less lateral and longitudinal reinforcement and insufficient sectional dimensions. A relationship has been developed to introduce variation of plastic length under increasing displacement amplitude. At ultimate state, the length of plastic hinge is almost equal to full depth of section. Using calibrated hysteresis models, the response of different specimens under two earthquakes has been analyzed. The analysis indicated that the ratio between displacement demand and capacity of standard specimens is about unity and that of deficient ones is about 1.7.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2023

Special moment resisting steel frame structures are now being used commonly in highly seismic regions as seismically reliable structures. However, a very important parameter describing the dynamics of steel structures during earthquake loading, Soil Structure Interaction (SSI), is generally neglected. In this study, the significance of consideration of flexibility of soil in being able to obtain a result closer to reality is asserted. The current paper focuses on calculation of seismic fragility curves special moment resisting steel frame structures under different earthquake loadings for fixed-base and SSI models. The observation of obtained fragility curves lead to the conclusion that the SSI has a considerable effect on component fragility for the steel structures, with its effects decreasing for higher peak ground acceleration. The results show that the structures when considered SSI have a higher probability of exceeding a damage limit state. This observation attests the role of SSI in the accurate study of structural performance.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.203-214
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• 2018

Predictive demand and collapse fragility functions are two essential components of the probabilistic seismic demand analysis that are commonly developed based on statistics with enormous, costly and time consuming data gathering. Although this approach might be justified for research purposes, it is not appealing for practical applications because of its computational cost. Thus, in this paper, Bayesian regression-based demand and collapse models are proposed to eliminate the need of time-consuming analyses. The demand model developed in the form of linear equation predicts overall maximum inter-story drift of the lowto mid-rise regular steel moment resisting frames (SMRFs), while the collapse model mathematically expressed by lognormal cumulative distribution function provides collapse occurrence probability for a given spectral acceleration at the fundamental period of the structure. Next, as an application, the proposed demand and collapse functions are implemented in a seismic fragility analysis to develop fragility and consequently seismic demand curves of three example buildings. The accuracy provided by utilization of the proposed models, with considering computation reduction, are compared with those directly obtained from Incremental Dynamic analysis, which is a computer-intensive procedure.