• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.58-65
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• 1998

A purpose of this research is to develope the calculation methods of design input seismic loads, Where, calculation methods are ; (1) Considering different recurrence period of earthquakes which was proposed by ATC 14. (2) Using earthquake records which was modified Korean codes. Responce spectra that was adopted by codes has an estimated recurrence interval of 500 years, with approximately a 90 percent probability of not being exceeded in 50 years. But If we considered the life-time of existing buildings in some cases, response spectra be modified with return period of earthquakes. If we be design highrise and irregular buildings, dynamic analysis method that use time history records should be used. But in Korea, time history records of earthquakes was very few. Therefore to use foreign countries's earthquake record, it is need to select of records considered Korean coeds. As a results, this study propose a calculation method of seismic design input loads that considered return period of earthquakes and also propose using method of earthquakes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.4
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• pp.563-576
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• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the progressive collapse potential of buildings designed using conventional design codes for the merchant occupancy classification and subjected to a sudden column failure. For this purpose, three reinforced concrete buildings having different story numbers were designed according to the seismic design recommendations of TSCB-2019. Later on, the buildings were analyzed using the GSA-2016 and UFC 4-023-03 to observe their progressive collapse responses. Three columns were removed independently in the structures from different locations. Nonlinear dynamic analysis method for the alternate path direct design approach was implemented for the design evaluation. The plasticity of the structural members was simulated by using nonlinear fiber hinges. The moment, axial, and shear force interaction on the hinges was considered by the Modified Compression Field Theory. Moreover, an existing experimental study investigating the progressive collapse behavior of reinforced concrete structures was used to observe the validation of nonlinear fiber hinges and the applied analysis methodology. The study results deduce that a limited local collapse disproportionately more extensive than the initial failure was experienced on the buildings designed according to TSCB-2019. The mercantile structures designed according to current seismic codes require additional direct design considerations to improve their progressive collapse resistance against the risk of a sudden column loss.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-37
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• 2007

In this study a stochastic approach for linear viscous dampers design adopted for seismic protection of buildings is developed. Devices optimal placement into the main structure and their mechanical parameters are attained by means of a reliability-based optimum design criterion, in which an objective function (O.F.) is minimized, subject to a stochastic constraint. The seismic input is modelled by a non stationary modulated Kanai Tajimi filtered stochastic process. Building is represented by means of a plane shear type frame model. The selected criterion for the optimization searches the minimum of the O.F., here assumed to be the cost of the seismic protection, i.e., assumed proportional to the sum of added dampings of each device. The stochastic constraint limits a suitable approximated measure of the structure failure probability, here associated to the maximum interstorey drift crossing over a given threshold limit, related, according with modern Technical Codes, to the required damage control.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.359-374
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• 2017

The seismic events in Northern Italy, May 2012, have revealed the seismic vulnerability of typical Italian precast industrial buildings. The aim of this paper is to present a seismic fragility model for Italian RC precast buildings, to be used in earthquake loss estimation and seismic risk assessment by comparing two building typologies and three different codes: D.M. 3-03-1975, D.M. 16-01-1996 and current Italian building code that has been released in 2008. Based on geometric characteristics and design procedure applied, ten different building classes were identified. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed for each building class in order to generate the building stock used for the development of fragility curves trough analytical method. The probabilistic distributions of geometry were mainly obtained from data collected from 650 field surveys, while the material properties were deduced from the code in place at the time of construction or from expert opinion. The structures were modelled in 2D frameworks; since the past seismic events have identified the beam-column connection as the weakest element of precast buildings, two different modelling solutions were adopted to develop fragility curves: a simple model with post processing required to detect connection collapse and an innovative modelling solution able to reproduce the real behaviour of the connection during the analysis. Fragility curves were derived using both nonlinear static and dynamic analysis.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.365-372
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• 2019

Post-earthquake crisis management is a key capability for a country to be able to recover after a major seismic event. Instrumental seismic data transmitted and processed in a very short time can contribute to better management of the emergency and can give insights on the earthquake's impact on a specific area. Romania is a country with a high seismic hazard, mostly due to the Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes. The elastic acceleration response spectrum of a seismic motion provides important information on the level of maximum acceleration the buildings were subjected to. Based on new data analysis and knowledge advancements, the acceleration elastic response spectrum for horizontal ground components recommended by the Romanian seismic codes has been evolving over the last six decades. This study aims to propose a framework for post-earthquake warning based on code spectrum exceedances. A comprehensive background analysis was undertaken using strong motion data from previous earthquakes corroborated with observational damage, to prove the method's applicability. Moreover, a case-study for two densely populated Romanian cities (Focsani and Bucharest) is presented, using data from a $5.5M_W$ earthquake (October 28, 2018) and considering the evolution of the three generations of code-based spectral levels for the two cities. Data recorded in free-field and in buildings were analyzed and has confirmed that no structural damage occurred within the two cities. For future strong seismic events, this tool can provide useful information on the effect of the earthquake on structures in the most exposed areas.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.557-569
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• 2022

The retrofit of existing structures in high seismic zones is a crucial issue in the earthquake engineering field. The interest of the research community is particularly high for the structures that do not respect current seismic codes and present structural deficiencies such as poor detailing and lack of capacity design provisions. A reinforced concrete (RC) school building is used as case study to show the influence of different knowledge levels on the seismic retrofitting cost assessment. The safety assessment of the case study building highlights deficiencies under both vertical and seismic loads. By considering all the possible knowledge levels defined by the Italian such as by the European codes in order to derive the mechanical properties of the school building constitutive materials, the retrofit operations are designed to achieve different seismic safety thresholds. The retrofit structural costs are calculated and summed up to the costs for in-situ in tests. The paper shows how for the case study building the major costs spent for a large number of in-situ tests allows to save a consistent amount of money for retrofit operations. The hypothesis of demolition and reconstruction of the building is also compared in terms of costs with all the analyzed retrofit options.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.481-501
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• 2015

Current design codes and technical recommendations often provide rough indications on how to assess effective stiffness of Reinforced Concrete (R/C) frames subjected to seismic loads, which is a key factor when a linear analysis is performed. The Italian design code (NTC-2008), Eurocode 8 and ACI 318 do not take into account all the structural parameters affecting the effective stiffness and this may not be on the safe side when second-order $P-{\Delta}$ effects may occur. This paper presents a study on the factors influencing the effective stiffness of R/C beams, columns and walls under seismic forces. Five different approaches are adopted and analyzed in order to evaluate the effective stiffness of R/C members, in accordance with the scientific literature and the international design codes. Furthermore, the paper discusses the outcomes of a parametric analysis performed on an actual R/C building and analyses the main variables, namely reinforcement ratio, axial load ratio, concrete compressive strength, and type of shallow beams. The second-order effects are investigated and the resulting displacements related to the Damage Limit State (DLS) under seismic loads are discussed. Although the effective stiffness increases with steel ratio, the analytical results show that the limit of 50% of the initial stiffness turns out to be the upper bound for small values of axial-load ratio, rather than a lower bound as indicated by both Italian NTC-2008 and EC8. As a result, in some cases the current Italian and European provisions tend to underestimate second-order $P-{\Delta}$ effects, when the DLS is investigated under seismic loading.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.15-22
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• 2003

Seismic design codes developed taking into account the strong earthquakes may result in unnecessary economical loss in the low seismic area, and the importance of the performance based design considering the soil-structure interaction is recognized for the reasonable seismic design. In this study. elastic and inelastic seismic response analyses of a single degree of freedom system on the soft soil layer were performed considering the nonlinearity of the soil for the 1 weak earthquakes scaled to the nominal peak accelerations of 0.07g and 0.11g. The seismic response analyses were performed in one step applying the earthquake motions to the bedrock, utilizing a pseudo 3-D dynamic analysis software of the soil-structure system. The study results indicated that seismic response spectra of a system assuming the rigid base or the linear soil layer does not represent the true behavior of a structure-soil system, and it is necessary to take into account the nonlinear soil-structure interaction effects and to perform the performance based seismic design for the various soil layers, having different characteristics, rather than to follow the routine design procedures specified in the design codes for the reasonable seismic design. The nonlinearity of the soft soil excited with the weak seismic motions also affected significantly on the elastic and inelastic seismic response spectra of a system due to the nonlinear soil amplification of the earthquake motions, and it was pronounced especially for the elastic response spectra.

• 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.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.779-799
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• 2015

The slosh height and the possibility of water spill from rectangular Spent Fuel Storage Bays (SFSB) and Tray Loading Bays (TLB) of Nuclear power plant (NPP) are studied during 0.2 g, Safe Shutdown Earthquake (SSE) level of earthquake. The slosh height obtained through Computational Fluid dynamics (CFD) is compared the values given by TID-7024 (Housner 1963) and American concrete institute (ACI) seismic codes. An equivalent amplitude method is used to compute the slosh height through CFD. Numerically computed slosh height for first mode of vibration is found to be in agreement the codal values. The combined effect in longitudinal and lateral directions are studied separately, and found that the slosh height is increased by 24.3% and 38.9% along length and width directions respectively. There is no liquid spillage under SSE level of earthquake data in SFSB and TLB at convective level and at free surface acceleration data. Since seismic design codes do not have guidelines for combined excitations and effect of higher modes for irregular geometries, this CFD procedure can be opted for any geometries to study effect of higher modes and combined three directional excitations.