• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.37-56
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• 2015

The Emilia, May-July 2012, earthquake has dramatically highlighted the only the hazards facing the people in insufficiently secured workplaces, but also the socio-economic consequences of interruption of production activities. After the event, in order to guarantee suitable safety levels, the Italian government asked for a generalized seismic retrofit of buildingsaffected by the earthquake under consideration. Considering that Emilia is one of the most industrialized Italian region, the number of the industrial buildings to be verified could however lead to not acceptable resumption of production time. So, with the aim to speed up the recovery, were leaved out from this request the buildings which had undergone a strong enoughshaking without any damage. In practice, the earthquakes were being used as a "test" to evaluate the seismic structural strength. Besides, the Italian government provision specifies also the zones, within which buildings that escaped evident damage are exempt from obligatory checks, and termed "exclusion zones", shall be individuated using the data provided by the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in the form of so-called "shakemaps". Obviously, the precision of such data greatly influences the determination of the exclusions zones and so all the economic issues related to them. Starting from these considerations, the present paper describes an evaluation of the reliability of the procedure of shakemap generation with specific regard to the seismic events that struck the Emilia region on May 20 and 29, 2012.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.507-526
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• 2009

Based on numerical and experimental methods, a systematic structural evaluation of a steel natatorium in service was carried out in detail in this paper. Planning of inspection tasks was proposed firstly according to some national codes in China in order to obtain the economic and reliable results. The field visual inspections and static computation were conducted in turn under in-service environmental conditions. Further a three-dimensional finite element model was developed according to its factual geometry properties obtained from the field inspection. An analytical modal analysis was performed to provide the analytical modal properties. The field vibration tests on the natatorium were conducted and then two different system identification methods were used to obtain the dynamic characteristics of the natatorium. A good correlation was achieved in results obtained from the two system identification methods and the finite element method (FEM). The numerical and experimental results demonstrated that the main structure of the natatorium in its present status is safe and it still satisfies the demand of the national codes in China. But the roof system such as purlines and skeletons must be removed and rebuilt completely. Moreover the system identification results showed that field vibration test is sufficient to identify the reliable dynamic properties of the natatorium. The constructive suggestion on structural evaluation of the natatorium is that periodic assessment work must be maintained to ensure the natatorium's safety in the future.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제18권5호
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• pp.515-525
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• 2019

A karst collapse, as a natural hazard, is totally different to a normal collapse. In recent years, karst collapses have caused substantial economic losses and even threatened human safety. A risk assessment model for karst collapse was developed based on the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and grey relational analysis (GRA), which is a simple and effective mathematical algorithm. An evaluation index played an important role in the process of completing the risk assessment model. In this study, the proposed model was applied to Jiaobai village in southwest China. First, the main controlling factors were summarized as an evaluation index of the model based on an investigation and statistical analysis of the natural formation law of karst collapse. Second, the FAHP was used to determine the relative weights and GRA was used to calculate the grey relational coefficient among the indices. Finally, the relational sequence of evaluation objects was established by calculating the grey weighted relational degree. According to the maximum relational rule, the greater the relational degree the better the relational degree with the hierarchy set. The results showed that the model accurately simulated the field condition. It is also demonstrated the contribution of various control factors to the process of karst collapse and the degree of collapse in the study area.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.241-255
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• 2017

Concrete is known to be the most used construction material worldwide. The environmental and economic aspects of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) containing concrete have led research studies to investigate the possibility of incorporating supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in concrete. Metakaolin (MK) is one SCM with high pozzolanic reactivity generated throughout the thermal activation of high purity kaolinite clay at a temperature ranging from $500^{\circ}C$ to $800^{\circ}C$. Although many studies have evaluated the effect of MK on mechanical properties of concrete and have reported positive effects, limited articles are considering the effect of MK on durability properties of concrete. Considering the lifetime assessment of concrete structures, the durability of concrete has become of particular interest recently. In the present work, the influences of MK on mechanical and durability properties of concrete mixtures are evaluated. Various experiments such as slump flow test, compressive strength, water permeability, freeze and thaw cycles, rapid chloride penetration and surface resistivity tests were carried out to determine mechanical and durability properties of concretes. Concretes made with the incorporation of MK revealed better mechanical and durability properties compared to control concretes due to combined pozzolanic reactivity and the filler effect of MK.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.245-261
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• 2017

As of the end of August 2017, there were 392 academic articles for $4^{th}$ Industrial Revolution in Korea. Is the vigorous discussion on the 4th Industrial Revolution in Korea normal? We checked the main theories on this topic by existing theories and responses of major countries and industries. The findings are that there are technologies called a Technological Revolution, and the industrial application of some technologies is in the starting stage. If comes, the Industrial Revolution is expected with the structure as follows: excellence science, core technologies, base technologies, application and infrastructure, and institutions. Nonetheless, the brisk studies are from three branches such as the Industry 4.0, social connection and artificial intelligence. The Industry 4.0, the digital transformation of manufacturing is the on-going issue in the industry, and artificial intelligence brings the biggest discourse. The 392 literature are mostly from introduction and preparation for future; technology 15.8%, industry 26.3%, society 24.5%, education 19.1%, policy 10.7%. The labor and employment is only 3.6%.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.1133-1153
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• 2016

In this article, an additive performance ratio method using structural analysis of both 2D and 3D is introduced to mitigate the complexity of work evaluating structural performances of numerous steel outrigger alternatives in multi-story buildings, especially high-rise buildings. The combined structural analysis process enables to be the design of economic, safe, and as constructional demanding structures by exploiting the advantages of steel, namely: excellent energy dissipation and ductility. First the approach decides the alternative of numerous steel outriggers by a simple 2D analysis module and then the alternative is evaluated by 3D analysis module. Initial structural analyses of outrigger types are carried out through MIDAS Gen 2D modeling, approximately, and then the results appeal structural performance and lead to decide some alternative of outrigger types. ETABS 3D modeling is used with respect to realization and evaluation of exact structural behaviors. The approach reduces computational burden in compared to existing concepts such as full 3D analysis methods. The combined 2D and 3D tools are verified by cycle and displacement tests including comprehensive nonlinear dynamic simulations. The advantages and limitations of the Additive Performance Ratio Approach are highlighted in a case study on a high rise steel-composite building, which targets at designing the optimized alternative to the existing original outrigger for lateral load resisting system.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제1권4호
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• pp.341-358
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• 2013

Due to fast growth in urbanisation, a highly developed infrastructure is essential for economic growth and prosperity. One of the major problems is to preserve, maintain, and retrofit these structures. To meet the requirements of construction industry, the basic information on all the mechanical properties of various concretes is essential. This paper presents the details of development of various concretes, namely, normal strength concrete (around 50 MPa), high strength concrete (around 85 MPa) and ultra high strength concrete (UHSC) (around 120 MPa) including their mechanical properties. The various mechanical properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, fracture energy and tensile stress vs crack width have been obtained from the respective test results. It is observed from the studies that a higher value of compressive strength, split tensile strength and fracture energy is achieved in the case of UHSC, which can be attributed to the contribution at different scales viz., at the meso scale due to the fibers and at the micro scale due to the close packing of grains which is on account of good grading of the particles. Micro structure of UHSC mix has been examined for various magnifications to identify the pores if any present in the mix. Brief note on characteristic length and brittleness number has been given.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.703-722
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• 2015

This study investigates the performance of advanced hollow reinforced concrete (RC) bridge column sections with triangular reinforcement details. Hollow column sections are based on economic considerations of cost savings associated with reduced material and design moments, as against increased construction complexity, and hence increased labor costs. The proposed innovative reinforcement details are economically feasible and rational, and facilitate shorter construction periods. We tested a model of advanced hollow column sections under quasi-static monotonic loading. The results showed that the proposed triangular reinforcement details were equal to the existing reinforcement details, in terms of the required performance. We used a computer program, Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology (RCAHEST), for analysis of the RC structures; and adopted a modified lateral confining effect model for the advanced hollow bridge column sections. Our study documents the testing of hollow RC bridge column sections with innovative reinforcement details, and presents conclusions based on the experimental and analytical findings. Additional full-scale experimental research is needed to refine and confirm the design details, especially for the actual detailing employed in the field.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제9권5호
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• pp.937-956
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• 2015

Seismic isolation systems decouple structures from ground motions to protect them from seismic events. Seismic isolation devices have been implemented in many full-scale buildings and bridges because of their simplicity, economic effectiveness, inherent stability, and reliability. It is well known that the most uncertain aspect for obtaining the accurate responses of an isolated structure from seismic events is the seismic loading itself. It is needed to know the seismic response distributions of the isolated structure resulting from the randomness of earthquakes when probabilistic designing or probabilistic evaluating an isolated structure. Earthquake time histories are useful and often an essential element for designing or evaluating isolated structures. However, it is very challenging to gather the design and evaluation information for an isolated structure from many seismic analyses. In order to evaluate the seismic performance of an isolated structure, numerous nonlinear dynamic analyses need to be performed, but this is impractical. In this paper, the concept of the stochastic response database (SRD) is defined to obtain the seismic response distributions of an isolated structure instantaneously, thereby significantly reducing the computational efforts. An equivalent model of the isolated structure is also developed to improve the applicability and practicality of the SRD. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is numerically verified.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.471-484
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• 2020

Previous earthquakes show that, structural safety evaluations should include the evaluation of nonstructural components. Failure of nonstructural components can affect the operational capacity of critical facilities, such as hospitals and fire stations, which can cause an increase in number of deaths. Additionally, failure of nonstructural components may result in economic, architectural, and historical losses of community. Accelerations and random vibrations must be under the predefined limitations in structures with high technological equipment, data centers in this case. Failure of server equipment and anchored server racks are investigated in this study. A probabilistic study is completed for a low-rise rigid sample structure. The structure is investigated in two versions, (i) conventional fixed-based structure and (ii) with a base isolation system. Seismic hazard assessment is completed for the selected site. Monte Carlo simulations are generated with selected parameters. Uncertainties in both structural parameters and mechanical properties of isolation system are included in simulations. Anchorage failure and vibration failures are investigated. Different methods to generate fragility curves are used. The site-specific annual hazard curve is used to generate risk curves for two different structures. A risk matrix is proposed for the design of data centers. Results show that base isolation systems reduce the failure probability significantly in higher floors. It was also understood that, base isolation systems are highly sensitive to earthquake characteristics rather than variability in structural and mechanical properties, in terms of accelerations. Another outcome is that code-provided anchorage failure limitations are more vulnerable than the random vibration failure limitations of server equipment.