• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.595-603
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• 2018

Shake table testing has been regarded as one of the most effective experimental approaches to evaluate seismic response of structural systems subjected to earthquakes. However, reproducing a prescribed acceleration time history precisely over the frequency of interest is challenging because shake table test systems are eventually nonlinear by nature. In addition, interaction between the table and specimen could affect the control accuracy of shake table testing significantly. Various novel control algorithms have been proposed to improve the control accuracy of shake table testing; however, reference values for control performance assessment remain rare. In this study, reference values for control performance assessment of shake table testing are specified based on the statistical analyses of 1,209 experimental data provided by the Seismic Simulator Laboratory of National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taiwan. Three individual reference values are considered for the assessment including the root-mean-square error of the achieved acceleration time history; the percentage of the spectral acceleration that exceeds the determined tolerance range over the frequency of interest; and the error-ratio of the achieved peak ground acceleration. Quartiles of the real experimental data in terms of the three objective variables are obtained, providing users with solid and simple references to evaluate the control performance of shake table testing. Finally, a set of experimental data of a newly developed control framework implementation for uni-axial shake tables are used as an application example to demonstrate the significant improvement of control accuracy according to the reference values provided in this study.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.201-209
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• 2016

Damages of large embankment dams by recent strong earthquakes in the world highlight the importance of seismic security of dams. Some of recent dam construction projects for water storage and hydropower are located in highly seismic zone, hence the seismic performance evaluation is an important issue. While state-of-the-art numerical analysis technology is generally utilized in practice for seismic performance evaluation of large dams, physical modeling is also carried out where new construction technology is involved or numerical analysis technology cannot simulate the behavior appropriately. Geotechnical centrifuge modeling is widely adopted in earthquake engineering to simulate the seismic behavior of large earth structures, but sometimes it can't be applied for large embankment dams due to various limitations. This study proposes a dynamic centrifuge testing method for large embankment dams and evaluated its applicability. Scaling relations for a case which model scale and g-level are different could be derived considering the stress conditions and predominant period of the structure, which is equivalent to previously suggested scaling relations. The scaling principles and testing method could be verified by modified modeling of models using a model at different acceleration levels. Finally, its applicability was examined by centrifuge tests for an embankment dam in Korea.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.309-323
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• 2005

Dynamic stiffness of subsurface materials is one of the most important geotechnical parameters in predicting deformational behavior of structures as well as practicing seismic design and performance evaluation. In an effort to measure the parameter efficiently and accurately, various borehole seismic testing techniques have been, thus, developed and used during past several decades. Moreover, recent rush of underground-space projects and increasing size of structures put more stress on reliable site investigation techniques in estimating stiffness of rock mass. In this paper, a new technique called 'in-hole seismic test' has been implemented to measure the dynamic stiffness of rock masses at subsurface foundations and tunnel-faces. The reliance of in-hole seismic test was evaluated by comparing the testing results at several rock sites with those of other borehole techniques and the technique tunnls out to be an efficient and accurate in-situ testing technique.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.415-422
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• 1998

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.1509-1521
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• 2013

Social demand for the stability of structures lead to the development of the technology to accomplish it. The non-destructive seismic technique, which is able to assess structural integrity of infrastructures, belongs to this category. Seismic technique is focused on the measurement of seismic velocity propagating through the material, and has to utilize sensors coupled to material surface, which does not allow the testing to be performed on the fly. In this paper, a general vocal microphone, which works as a non-contact sensor, was adopted to facilitate seismic testing with mobility and efficiency improved. The target of using microphones was oriented toward quality assessment of compacted subgrade, stiffness evaluation and health monitoring of concrete structures. Experimental parametric study and field applications were performed to investigate reliability and efficiency of microphones. Finally, the optimal test configuration of microphones was suggested for resonance tests and surface-wave tests.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.133-148
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• 2021

The paper presents a simplified force-based seismic design procedure for the preliminary design of steel haunch retrofitting for the seismic upgrade of deficient RC frames. The procedure involved constructing a site-specific seismic design spectrum for the site, which is transformed into seismic base shear coefficient demand, using an applicable response modification factor, that defines base shear force for seismic analysis of the structure. Recent experimental campaign; involving shake table testing of ten (10), and quasi-static cyclic testing of two (02), 1:3 reduced scale RC frame models, carried out for the seismic performance assessment of both deficient and retrofitted structures has provided the basis to calculate retrofit-specific response modification factor Rretrofitted. The haunch retrofitting technique enhanced the structural stiffness, strength, and ductility, hence, increased the structural response modification factor, which is mainly dependent on the applied retrofit scheme. An additional retrofit effectiveness factor (ΩR) is proposed for the deficient structure's response modification factor Rdeficient, representing the retrofit effectiveness (ΩR=Rretrofitted /Rdeficient), to calculate components' moment and shear demands for the retrofitted structure. The experimental campaign revealed that regardless of the deficient structures' characteristics, the ΩR factor remains fairly the unchanged, which is encouraging to generalize the design procedure. Haunch configuration is finalized that avoid brittle hinging of beam-column joints and ensure ductile beam yielding. Example case study for the seismic retrofit designs of RC frames are presented, which were validated through equivalent lateral load analysis using elastic model and response history analysis of finite-element based inelastic model, showing reasonable performance of the proposed design procedure. The proposed design has the advantage to provide a seismic zone-specific design solution, and also, to suggest if any additional measure is required to enhance the strength/deformability of beams and columns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.651-662
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• 2001

In order to investigate the seismic behavior and seismic design methods in the transverse direction of a shield tunnel, a series of model shaking table tests and a two-dimensional finite element dynamic analysis on the tests are carried out. Two kinds of static analytical methods based on ground-tunnel composite finite element model and beam-spring element model are proposed, and the validity of the static analyses is verified by model shaking table tests. The investigation concerns the dynamic response behavior of a tunnel and the ground, the interaction between the tunnel and ground, and an evaluation of different seismic design methods. Results of the investigation indicate that the shield tunnel follows the surrounding ground in displacement and dynamic characteristics in the transverse direction; also, the static analytical methods proposed by the authors can be used directly as the seismic design methods in the transverse direction of a shield tunnel.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 2021

Buildings made using the locally available clay materials are amongst the least expensive forms of construction in many developing countries, and therefore, widely popular in remote areas. It is despite the fact that these low-strength masonry structures are vulnerable to seismic forces. Since transporting imported materials like cement and steel in areas inaccessible by motorable roads is challenging and financially unviable. This paper presents, and experimentally investigates, adobe masonry structures that utilize the abundantly available local clay materials with moderate use of imported materials like cement, aggregates, and steel. Shake-table tests were performed on two 1:3 reduce-scaled adobe masonry models for experimental seismic testing and verification. The model AM1 was confined with vertical lightly reinforced concrete columns provided at all corners and reinforced concrete horizontal bands (i.e., tie beams) provided at sill, lintel, and eave levels. The model AM2 was confined only with the horizontal bands provided at sill, lintel, and eave levels. The models were subjected to sinusoidal base motions for studying the damage evolution and response of the model under dynamic lateral loading. The lateral forcedeformation capacity curves for both models were developed and bi-linearized to compute the seismic response parameters: stiffness, strength, ductility, and response modification factor R. Seismic performance levels, story-drift, base shear coefficient, and the expected structural damages, were defined for both the models. Seismic performance assessment of the selected models was carried out using the lateral seismic force procedure to evaluate their safety in different seismic zones. The use of vertical columns in AM1 has shown a considerable increase in the lateral strength of the model in comparison to AM2. Although an R factor equal to 2.0 is recommended for both the models, AM1 has exhibited better seismic performance in all seismic zones due to its relatively high lateral strength in comparison to AM2.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.309-329
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• 1995

Seismicity and stress state in the Korean peninsula are studied using the catalogue of historical earthquakes and that from the seismological observations before the 1960s, with the aid of instrumental catalogue up to 1995. It seems that the completeness of the historical catalogue has a significant enhancement during the first two hundred years of the Yi dynasty, i.e., from the 1400s to the 1600s. From then on the catalogue may be regarded as near to complete for strong earthquakes in an overall sense. From the distribution of strong earthquakes, three seismic zones may be identified. From the south to the north, those are the southern seismic zone (남부지진대), the Seoul-Pyongyang seismic zone (서울-평양지진대), and the northern seismic zone (북부지진대). The mechanisms of some earthquakes obtained using first motion read- ings are reevaluated with a grid testing method. The results indicate that the compressional axis is nearly horizontal along the EW direction.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.27-37
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• 2007

Downhole seismic method is very economic and easy to operate because it uses only one borehole and simple surface source to obtain the shear wave velocity profile of a site. In this study, automatic shear wave source was developed for efficient downhole seismic testing. This source is motor-spring type and easy to control. It can lessen the labor of operator and the working time. Moreover, it can provide better and repetitive signals for data interpretation. By combining developed automatic source with automatic receiver system, PC based data acquisition system, advanced managing program, and semi-automatic downhole performing system were constructed. Through comparison test with manual source, advantages of automatic source were verified. Constructed semi-automatic downhole testing system including automatic shear wave source was applied to the soft soil site. The applicability and reliability were verified and the importance of automating testing system for obtaining reliable result was emphasized.