• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2017

Composite steel plate deep beam (CDB) is proposed as a lateral resisting member, which is constructed by steel plate and reinforced concrete (RC) panel, and it is connected with building frame through high-strength bolts. To investigate the seismic performance of the CDB, tests of two 1/3 scaled specimens with different length-to-height ratio were carried out under cyclic loads. The failure modes, load-carrying capacity, hysteretic behavior, ductility and energy dissipation were obtained and analyzed. In addition, the nonlinear finite element (FE) models of the specimens were established and verified by the test results. Besides, parametric analyses were performed to study the effect of length-to-height ratio, height-to-thickness ratio, material type and arrangement of RC panel. The experimental and numerical results showed that: the CDBs lost their load-carrying capacity because of the large out-of plane deformation and yield of the tension field formed on the steel plate. By increasing the length-to-height ratio of steel plate, the load-carrying capacity, elastic stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the specimens were significantly enhanced. The ultimate loading capacity increased with increasing the length-to-height ratio of steel plate and yield strength of steel plate; and such capacity increased with decreasing of height-to-thickness ratio of steel plate and gap. Finally, a unified formula is proposed to calculate their ultimate loading capacity, and fitting formula on such indexes are provided for designation of the CDB.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.95-100
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• 2011

Currently, office buildings in Korea tend to adopt as their outer wall the curtain wall structure which can be easily constructed and has beautiful external appearance as well. However, the problem is that the curtain wall structure does not have a uniform composition unlike the wall of existing reinforced concrete structures and has a frame made of metal with high heat conduction. Therefore, it is expected that the structure will be highly influenced by the thermal bridge. Thereupon, this study analyzes how to set up the composition of the wall system and heat transmission rate in consideration of the thermal characteristics of the curtain wall structure and applies it in practice by simulation in order to propose a guideline for the energy simulation method of the curtain wall structure and analyze its differences from existing simulation methods.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.401-413
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• 2015

In this study the progressive collapse resisting capacity of a RC beam-column subassemblage with and without strengthening was investigated. Total of five specimens were tested; two unreinforced specimens, the one designed as gravity load-resisting system and the other as seismic load-resisting system, and three specimens reinforced with: (i) bonded strand, (ii) unbonded strand, and (iii) side steel plates with stud bolts. The two-span subassemblages were designed as part of an eight-story RC building. Monotonically increasing load was applied at the middle column of the specimens and the force-displacement relationships were plotted. It was observed that the gravity load-resisting specimen failed by fractures of re-bars in the beams. In the other specimens no failure was observed until the maximum displacement capacity of the actuator was reached. Highest strength was observed in the structure with unbonded strand. The test result of the specimen with side steel plates in beam-column joints showed that the force-displacement curve increased without fracture of re-bars. Based on the test results it was concluded that the progressive collapse resisting capacity of a RC frame could be significantly enhanced using unbonded strands or side plates with stud bolts.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.49-60
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• 2002

This paper describes a simple method for evaluating the design wind loads for the structural frames of circular flat roofs with long spans. The dynamic response of several roof models were numerically analyzed in the time domain as well as in the frequency domain by using wind pressure data obtained from a wind tunnel experiment. The instantaneous displacement and bending moment of the roof were computed, and the maximum load effects were evaluated. The results indicate that the wind-induced oscillation of the roof is generally dominated by the first mode and the gust effect factor approach can be applied to the evaluation of the maximum load effects. That is, the design wind load can be represented by the time-averaged wind pressure multiplied by the gust effect factor for the first mode. Based on the experimental results for the first modal force, an empirical formula for the gust effect factor is provided as a function of the geometric and structural parameters of the roof and the turbulence intensity of the approach flow. The equivalent design pressure coefficients, which reproduce the maximum load effects, are also discussed. A simplified model of the pressure coefficient distribution is presented.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.561-580
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• 2014

After strong earthquakes conventional frames used worldwide in multi - story steel buildings (e.g. moment resisting frames) are not well positioned according to reparability. Two innovative systems for seismic resistant steel frames incorporated with dissipative fuses were developed within the European Research Program "FUSEIS" (Vayas et al. 2013). The first, FUSEIS1, resembles a vertical Vierendeel beam and is composed of two closely spaced strong columns rigidly connected to multiple beams. In the second system, FUSEIS2, a discontinuity is introduced in the composite beams of a moment resisting frame and the dissipative devices are steel plates connecting the two parts. The FUSEIS system is able to dissipate energy by means of inelastic deformations in the fuses and combines ductility and architectural transparency with stiffness. In case of strong earthquakes damage concentrates only in the fuses which behave as self-centering systems able to return the structure to its initial undeformed shape. Repair work after such an event is limited only to replacing the fuses. Experimental and numerical investigations were performed to study the response of the fuses system. Code relevant design rules for the seismic design of frames with dissipative FUSEIS and practical recommendations on the selection of the appropriate fuses as a function of the most important parameters and member verifications have been formulated and are included in a Design Guide. This article presents the design and performance of building frames with FUSEIS 1-1 based on models calibrated on the experimental results.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.57-82
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• 2014

The heritage value of the mixed wood-masonry 18th century Pombalino buildings of downtown Lisbon is recognized both nationally and internationally. The present paper focuses on the seismic assessment of global response and retrofitting of a typical Pombalino building by nonlinear static analyses, performed by the research software Tremuri, which is able to model 3D configurations. The structure is modelled using nonlinear beams for masonry panels, while in case of the internal walls (frontal walls) an original formulation has been developed in order to take into account their specific seismic behaviour. Floors are modelled as orthotropic membrane finite elements: this feature allows to simulate the presence of both flexible and rigid diaphragms, being the first ones more representative of the original state while the second ones of retrofitted configurations. Seismic assessment has been evaluated by applying nonlinear static procedure and comparing the performance of different configurations (by considering various retrofitting strategies). Finally, assuming a lognormal cumulative distribution, fragility curves are obtained to be representative of Pombalino buildings: the most important application of such curves is for seismic risk and loss estimation analyses.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.383-397
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• 2018

Traditional base isolation systems focus on isolating the seismic response of a structure in the horizontal direction. However, in regions where the vertical earthquake excitation is significant (such as near-fault region), a traditional base-isolated building exhibits a significant vertical vibration. To eliminate this shortcoming, a rocking-isolated system named Telescopic Column (TC) is proposed in this paper. Detailed rocking and isolation mechanism of the TC system is presented. The seismic performance of the TC is compared with the traditional elastomeric bearing (EB) and friction pendulum (FP) base-isolated systems. A 4-storey reinforced concrete moment-resisting frame (RC-MRF) is selected as the reference superstructure. The seismic response of the reference superstructure in terms of column axial forces, base shears, floor accelerations, inter-storey drift ratios (IDR) and collapse margin ratios (CMRs) are evaluated using OpenSees. The results of the nonlinear dynamic analysis subjected to multi-directional earthquake excitations show that the superstructure equipped with the newly proposed TC is more resilient and exhibits a superior response with higher margin of safety against collapse when compared with the same superstructure with the traditional base-isolation (BI) system.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.391-413
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• 2015

Damage of torsionally coupled buildings situated on soil sites has been reported in literature, however no site-specific studies are available for torsionally coupled buildings having site characteristics as a parameter. Effect of torsion is being accounted in seismic codes by the provision of design eccentricity where the dynamic to static eccentricity ratio is a parameter. In this paper, a methodology to determine dynamic to static eccentricity ratio of torsionally coupled buildings has been demonstrated for Delhi region for two torsionally coupled buildings on three soil sites. The variations of average and standard deviations of frame shears for stiff and flexible edges are studied for four eccentricity ratios for the two buildings for the three sites. From the limited studies made, it is observed that the dynamic to static eccentricity ratios observed for site-specific earthquakes are different from Indian seismic code specified value, hence a proposal is made to include a comment in Indian seismic code. Methodology proposed in this paper can be adopted for any region, for the estimation of dynamic to static eccentricity ratio for site specific earthquake.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.163-178
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• 2016

Composite Lightweight (CL) insulated walls have gained wide adoption recently because the exterior claddings of steel building frames have their cost effectiveness, good thermal and structural efficiency. To investigate the seismic behavior, lateral stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation of steel frames with the CL infill walls, five one-story one-bay steel frames were fabricated and tested under cyclic loads. Test results showed that the bolted connections allow relative movement between CL infill walls and steel frames, enabling the system to exhibit satisfactory performance under lateral loads. Additionally, it is found that the addition of diagonal steel straps to the CL infill wall significantly increases the initial lateral stiffness, load-carrying capacity, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the system. Furthermore, the test results indicate that the lateral stiffness values of the frames with the CL infill wall are similar to those of the bare steel frames in large lateral displacement.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.157-178
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• 2013

Output-only modal parameter identification is based on the assumption that external forces on a linear structure are white noise. However, harmonic excitations are also often present in real structural vibrations. In particular, it has been realized that the use of forced acceleration responses without knowledge of external forces can pose a problem in the modal parameter identification, because an external force is imparted to its impulse acceleration response function. This paper provides a three-stage identification procedure as a solution to the problem of harmonic and white noise excitations in the acceleration responses of a linear dynamic system. This procedure combines the uses of the mode indicator function, the complex mode indication function, the enhanced frequency response function, an iterative rational fraction polynomial method and mode shape inspection for the correlation-related functions of the force-embedded acceleration responses. The procedure is verified via numerical simulation of a five-floor shear building and a two-dimensional frame and also applied to ambient vibration data of a large-span roof structure. Results show that the modal parameters of these dynamic systems can be satisfactorily identified under the requirement of wide separation between vibration modes and harmonic excitations.