• Title/Summary/Keyword: building vulnerability

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The use of SMA wire dampers to enhance the seismic performance of two historical Islamic minarets

  • El-Attar, Adel;Saleh, Ahmed;El-Habbal, Islam;Zaghw, Abdel Hamid;Osman, Ashraf
    • Smart Structures and Systems
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    • v.4 no.2
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    • pp.221-232
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    • 2008
  • This paper represents the final results of a research program sponsored by the European Commission through project WIND-CHIME ($\underline{W}$ide Range Non-$\underline{IN}$trusive $\underline{D}$evices toward $\underline{C}$onservation of $\underline{HI}$storical Monuments in the $\underline{ME}$diterranean Area), in which the possibility of using advanced seismic protection technologies to preserve historical monuments in the Mediterranean area is investigated. In the current research, the dynamic characteristics of two outstanding Mamluk-Style minarets, which similar minarets were reported to experience extensive damage during Dahshur 1992 earthquake, are investigated. The first minaret is the Qusun minaret (1337 A.D, 736 Hijri Date (H.D)) located in El-Suyuti cemetery on the southern side of the Salah El-Din citadel. The minaret is currently separated from the surrounding building and is directly resting on the ground (no vaults underneath). The total height of the minaret is 40.28 meters with a base rectangular shaft of about 5.42 ${\times}$ 5.20 m. The second minaret is the southern minaret of Al-Sultaniya (1340 A.D, 739 H.D). It is located about 30.0 meters from Qusun minaret, and it is now standing alone but it seems that it used to be attached to a huge unidentified structure. The style of the minaret and its size attribute it to the first half of the fourteenth century. The minaret total height is 36.69 meters and has a 4.48 ${\times}$ 4.48 m rectangular base. Field investigations were conducted to obtain: (a) geometrical description of the minarets, (b) material properties of the minarets' stones, and (c) soil conditions at the minarets' location. Ambient vibration tests were performed to determine the modal parameters of the minarets such as natural frequencies and mode shapes. A $1/16^{th}$ scale model of Qusun minaret was constructed at Cairo University Concrete Research Laboratory and tested under free vibration with and without SMA wire dampers. The contribution of SMA wire dampers to the structural damping coefficient was evaluated under different vertical loads and vibration amplitudes. Experimental results were used along with the field investigation data to develop a realistic 3-D finite element model that can be used for seismic risk evaluation of the minarets. Examining the updated finite element models under different seismic excitations indicated the vulnerability of such structures to earthquakes with medium to high a/v ratio. The use of SMA wire dampers was found feasible for reducing the seismic risk for this type of structures.

Regional Estimation of Site-specific Seismic Responses at Gyeongju by Building GIS-based Geotechnical Information System (GIS 기반의 지반 정보 시스템 구축을 통한 경주 지역 부지고유 지진 응답의 지역적 평가)

  • Sun, Chang-Guk;Chung, Choon-Ki
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.38-50
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    • 2008
  • The site-specific seismic responses and corresponding seismic hazards are influenced mainly by the subsurface geologic and geotechnical dynamic characteristics. To estimate reliably the seismic responses in this study, a geotechnical information system (GTIS) within GIS framework was developed by introducing new concepts, which consist of the extended area containing the study area and the additional site visit for acquiring surface geo-knowledge data. The GIS-based GTIS was built for Gyeongju area, which has records of abundant historical seismic hazards reflecting the high potential of future earthquakes. At the study area, Gyeongju, intensive site investigations and pre-existing geotechnical data collections were performed and the site visits were additionally carried out for assessing geotechnical characteristics and shear wave velocity ($V_S$) representing dynamic property. Within the GTIS for Gyeongju area, the spatially distributed geotechnical layers and $V_S$ in the entire study area were reliably predicted from the site investigation data using the geostatistical kriging method. Based on the spatial geotechnical layers and $V_S$ predicted within the GTIS, a seismic zoning map on site period ($T_G$) from which the site-specific seismic responses according to the site effects can be estimated was created across the study area of Gyeongju. The spatial $T_G$ map at Gyeongju indicated seismic vulnerability of two- to five-storied buildings. In this study, the seismic zonation based on $T_G$ within the GIS-based GTIS was presented as regional efficient strategy for seismic hazard prediction and mitigation.

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Fragility Analysis of RC Moment Resisting Frame with Masonry Infill Walls (비내력벽을 가진 RC모멘트저항골조의 취약도 해석)

  • Ko, Hyun;Park, Yong-Koo;Lee, Dong-Guen
    • Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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    • v.22 no.4
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    • pp.355-362
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    • 2009
  • Many of residential buildings, which have pilotis in lower stories to meet the architectural needs, are recently constructed in Korea. Usually, infill walls located in the upper stories of these buildings may cause a soft first story, which is very weak from the earthquake resistance. In the design of the buildings, the infill walls of upper stories are usually considered as non-structural elements and thus they are not included in the analytical model. However, the infill walls may affect the seismic behavior of the residential buildings. Therefore, the differences in seismic behaviors of RC buildings with and without masonry infill walls are required to be investigated. In this study, seismic fragility analyses were performed for masonry infilled low-rise RC moment-resisting frames. And seismic behaviors of RC moment-resisting frame with/without masonry infill walls were evaluated. Two types of structural system with the same frame and different allocation of infill walls are used to evaluate the influence of masonry infill walls on seismic behavior of RC moment-resisting frames. The infill walls were modeled as bi-equivalent diagonal struts. The fragility analyses show that the seismic performance of RC moment-resisting frames with soft story is below the desirable building seismic performance level recommended by current seismic codes, indicating high vulnerability of RC moment-resisting frames with soft story.

The Development of Integrated Mobile Measurement System for Terrestrial DMB (지상파 DMB를 위한 통합 이동 측정 시스템 개발)

  • Kim Sang-Hun;Yim Zung-Kon;Chae Young-Seok;Kim Man-Sik
    • Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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    • v.9 no.4 s.25
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    • pp.411-423
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    • 2004
  • In Korea, Eureka-147 DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) temporarily decided as the standard system for digital audio broadcasting was evolved into DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) to complement the technical vulnerability in mobile reception of terrestrial DTV. According to introducing video service in T-DMB (Terrestrial DMB), 'Terrestrial DMB Experimental Broadcasting for Video Service', a national project of the MIC (Ministry of Information and Communication), was done for verifying the possibility of video service via T-DMB. The main objective of the project is computing the effective field strength and coverage for making a plan to build T-DMB broadcasting network and developing transmitting and receiving equipment. In case of digital broadcasting, it is absolutely essential to measure BER (Bit Error Rate) and electric field strength in order to evaluate coverage and quality of received signal. In this paper, we implement an integrated mobile measurement system for T-DMB. For this purpose, we propose efficient data structure and algorithm for BER measurement. By adding GPS (Global Positioning System) and electric field strength measurement parts into BER measurement part, we complete the integrated mobile measurement system, and then verify it by experiments and field tests. The developed system was used in a national project, 'Terrestrial DMB Experimental Broadcasting for Video Service' and measurement results will be used as fundamental data for building T-DMB broadcasting network.

Study on the structure of the articulation jack and skin plate of the sharp curve section shield TBM in numerical analysis (수치해석을 통한 급곡선 구간 Shield TBM의 중절잭 및 스킨플레이트 구조에 관한 연구)

  • Kang, Sin-Hyun;Kim, Dong-Ho;Kim, Hun-Tae;Song, Seung-Woo
    • Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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    • v.19 no.3
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    • pp.421-435
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    • 2017
  • Recently, due to the saturation of ground structures and the overpopulation of pipeline facilities requires to development of underground structures as an alternative to ground structures. Thus, mechanized tunnel construction of the shield TBM method has been increasing in order to prevent vibration and noise problems in construction of the NATM tunnel for the urban infrastructure construction. Tunnel construction plan for the tunnel line should be formed in a sharp curve to avoid building foundation and underground structures and it is inevitable to develop a shield TBM technology that suits the sharp curve tunnel construction. Therefore, this study is about the structural stability technology of the articulation jack, shield jack and skin plate for the shield TBM thrust in case of the mechanized tunnel construction that is a straight and sharp curve line. The construction case study and shield TBM operation principle are examined and analyzed by the theoretical approach. The torque of the cutter head, the thrust of the articulation jack and the shield jack, the amount of over cutting for curve is important respectively in shield TBM construction of straight and sharp curve line. In addition, it is very important to secure the stability of the skin plate structure to ensure the safety of the inside worker. This study examines the general structure and construction of the equipment, experimental simulation was carried out through numerical analysis to examine the main factors and structural stability of the skin plate structure. The structural stability of the skin plate was evaluated and optimizes the shape by comparing the loads of the articulation jack by selecting the virtual soil to be applied in a straight and sharp curve line construction. Since the present structure and operation method of the shield TBM type in domestic constructions are very similar, this study will help to develop the localized shield TBM technology for the new equipment and the vulnerability and stability review.