• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.487-504
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• 2013

In the present work a new friction device, with a set of single or double rotational friction flanges and a link element, is described and tested. The mechanism may be applied for the strengthening of existing r/c or steel buildings as well as in new constructed buildings. The device has selectable variable behavior in different levels of displacement and an interlock mechanism that is provided by the link element. The link element may be designed to lock at preselected level of displacement, offering in this way an extra safety reserve against strong earthquakes. A summary of the existing literature about other similar mechanisms is initially presented in this paper. The proposed mechanism is presented and described in details. Laboratory experiments are presented in detail and the resulted response that proves the efficiency of the mechanism at selectable levels of strength capacity is discussed. Drawings of the mechanism attached to a r/c frame with connection details are also included. Finally a dynamic analysis of two r/c frames, with and without the proposed mechanism attached, is performed and the resulted response is given. The main conclusion is that the proposed mechanism is a cheap and efficient devise for the improvement of the performance of new or existing framed buildings to seismic loads.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.237-246
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• 2022

Based on the random-vibration-theory methodology, dynamic responses of nuclear facilities subjected to obliquely incidental and incoherent earthquake ground motions are calculated. The spectral power density functions of the 6-degree-of-freedom motions of a rigid foundation due to the incoherent ground motions are obtained with the local wave scattering and wave passage effects taken into consideration. The spectral power density function for the pseudo-acceleration of equipment installed on a structural floor is derived. The spectral acceleration of the equipment or the in-structure response spectrum is then estimated using the peak factors of random vibration. The approach is applied to nuclear power plant structures installed on half-spaces, and the reduction of high-frequency earthquake responses due to obliquely incident incoherent earthquake ground motions is examined. The influences of local wave scattering and wave passage effects are investigated for three half-spaces with different shear-wave velocities. When the shear-wave velocity is sufficiently large like hard rock, the local wave scattering significantly affects the reduction of the earthquake responses. In the cases of rock or soft rock, the earthquake responses of structures are further affected by the incident angles of seismic waves or the wave passage effects.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.5
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• pp.591-604
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• 2022

A gravity wall combined with an anchoring lattice frame (a combined retaining structure) is adopted at a typical engineering site at Dali-Ruili Railway Line China. Where, the combined retaining structure supports a soil deposit covering on different inclined rock slopes. With an aim to investigate and compare the effects of inclined rock slopes on the response of combined retaining structure under seismic excitation, three groups of shaking table tests are conducted. The rock slopes are shaped as planar surfaces inclined at angles of 20°, 30°, and 40° with the horizontal, respectively. The shaking table tests are supplemented by dynamic numerical simulations. The results regarding the horizontal acceleration response, vertical acceleration response, permanent displacement mode, and axial anchor force are comparatively examined. The acceleration response is more susceptible to outer structural profile of combined retaining structure than to inclined angle of rock slope. The permanent displacement decreases when the inclined angle of the rock slope increases within a range of 20°-40°. A critical inclined angle of rock slope exists within a range of 20°-40°, and induces the largest axial anchor force in the combined retaining structure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.263-275
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• 2022

Structural collapses can occur as a result of a dynamic amplification of either, the building's seismic response or the ground shaking by local site effects; one of the reasons is a resonance effect due to the proximity of the structural elastic fundamental period TE and the soil fundamental period TS. We evaluate the vulnerability to resonance effects in Guadalajara, México, in a three-step schema: 1) we define structural systems in the building environment of western Guadalajara, in terms of their construction materials and structural components; 2) we estimate TE with different equations, to obtain a representative value in elastic conditions for each structural system; and, 3) we evaluate the resonance vulnerability by the analysis of the ratio between TE and TS. We observe that the larger the soil fundamental period, the higher the resonance vulnerability for buildings with height between 17 and 39 m. For the sites with a low TS, the most vulnerable buildings will be those with a height between 2 and 9 m. These results can be a helpful tool for disaster prevention, by avoiding the construction of buildings with certain heights and structural characteristics that would result in a dangerous proximity between TE and TS.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.261-269
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• 2018

This study examines earthquake-induced sloshing effects on liquid storage tanks using computation fluid dynamics. To achieve this goal, this study selects an existing square steel tank tested by Seismic Simulation Test Center at Pusan National University as a case study. The model validation was firstly performed through the comparison of shaking table test data and simulated results for the water tank subjected to a harmonic excitation. For a realistic estimation of the wall pressure response of the water tank, three recorded earthquakes with similar peak ground acceleration are applied:1940 El Centro earthquake, 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, and 2017 Pohang earthquake. Wall pressures monitored during the dynamic analyses are examined and compared for different earthquake motions and monitoring points, using power spectrum density. Finally, the maximum dynamic pressure for three earthquakes is compared with the design pressure calculated from a seismic design code. Results indicated that the maximum pressure from the El Centro earthquake exceeds the design pressure although its peak ground acceleration is less than 0.4 g, which is the design acceleration. On the other hand, the maximum pressure due to two Korean earthquakes does not reach the design pressure. Thus, engineers should not consider only the peak ground acceleration when determining the design pressure of water tanks.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.319-327
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• 2017

In this study, characteristics of seismic behaviors of offshore wind turbine systems using concrete-suction-type supporting structures are investigated. Applying hydrodynamic pressure from the surrounding sea water and interaction forces from the underlying soil to the structural system which is composed of RNA, the tower, and the supporting structure, a governing equation of the system is derived and its earthquake responses are obtained. It can be observed from the analysis results that the responses are significantly influenced by soil-structure interaction because dynamic responses for higher natural vibration modes are increased due to the flexibility of soil. Therefore, the soil-structure interaction must be taken into consideration for accurate assessment of dynamic behaviors of offshore wind turbine systems using concrete-suction-type supporting structures.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2019

In the precedent study, the retractable-roof spatial structure was selected as the analytical model and a tuned mass damper (TMD) was installed to control the dynamic response for the earthquake loads. Also, it is analyzed that the installation location of TMD in the analytical model and the optimal number of installations. A single TMD mass installed in the analytical model was set up 1% of the mass of the whole structure, and the optimum installation location was derived according to the number of change. As a result, it was verified that most effective to install eight TMDs regardless of opening or closing. Thus, in this study, eight TMDs were installed in the retractable-roof spatial structure and the optimum mass ratio was inquired while reducing a single TMD. In addition, the optimum mass distribution ratio was identified by redistributing the TMD masses differently depending on the installation position, using the mass ratio of vibration control being the most effective for seismic load. From the analysis results, as it is possible to confirm the optimum mass distribution ratio according to the optimum mass ratio and installation location of the TMD in the the retractable-roof spatial structure, it can be used as a reference in the TMD design for large space structure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.661-670
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• 2017

The dynamic model test of dam-reservoir coupling system for a 203m high gravity dam is performed to investigate effects of reservoir water on dynamic responses of dam during earthquake. The hydrodynamic pressure under condition of full reservoir, natural frequencies and acceleration amplification factors along the dam height under conditions of full and empty reservoir are obtained from the test. The results indicate that the reservoir water have a stronger influence on the dynamic responses of dam. The measured natural frequency of the dam model under full reservoir is 21.7% lower than that of empty reservoir, and the acceleration amplification factor at dam crest under full reservoir is 18% larger than that under empty reservoir. Seismic dynamic analysis of the gravity dams with five different heights is performed with the Fluid-Structure Coupling Model (FSCM). The hydrodynamic pressures from Westergaard formula are overestimated in the lower part of the dam body and underestimated in its upper part to compare with those from the FSCM. The underestimation and overestimation are more significance with the increase of the dam height. The position of the maximum hydrodynamic pressure from the FSCM is raised with the increase of dam height. In view of the above, the Westergaard formula is modified with consideration in the influence of the height of dam, the elasticity of dam on the hydrodynamic pressure. The solutions of modified Westergaard formula are quite coincident with the hydrodynamic pressures in the model test and the previous report.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.19 no.2 s.72
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• pp.171-185
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• 2006

A sophisticated reliability analysis method is proposed to evaluate the reliability of real nonlinear complicated dynamic structural systems excited by short duration dynamic loadings like earthquake motions by intelligently integrating the response surface method, the finite element method, the first-order reliability method, and the iterative linear interpolation scheme. The method explicitly considers all major sources of nonlinearity and uncertainty in the load and resistance-related random variables. The unique feature of the technique is that the seismic loading is applied in the time domain, providing an alternative to the classical random vibration approach. The four-parameter Richard model is used to represent the flexibility of connections of real steel frames. Uncertainties in the Richard parameters are also incorporated in the algorithm. The laterally flexible steel frame is then reinforced with reinforced concrete shear walls. The stiffness degradation of shear walls after cracking is also considered. The applicability of the method to estimate the reliability of real structures is demonstrated by considering three examples; a laterally flexible steel frame with fully restrained connections, the same steel frame with partially restrained connections with different rigidities, and a steel frame reinforced with concrete shear walls.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.23-29
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• 2008

This study investigates the dynamic instability of strength-limited bilinear single degree of freedom (SDF) systems under seismic excitation. The strength-limited bilinear hysteretic model best replicates the hysteretic behavior of the steel moment resisting frames. To estimate the dynamic instability of SDF systems, the collapse strength ratio is used, which is the yield-strength reduction factor when collapse occurs. Statistical studies are carried out to estimate median collapse strength ratios and those dispersions of strength-limited bilinear SDF systems with given natural periods, hardening stiffness ratios, post-capping stiffness ratios, ductility and damping ratios ranging from 2 to 20% subjected to 240 earthquake ground motions recorded on stiff soil sites. Equations to calculate median and standard deviation of collapse strength ratios in strength-limited bilinear SDF systems are obtained through nonlinear regression analysis. By using the proposed equations, this study estimated the probabilistic distribution of collapse strength ratios, and compared this with the exact values from which the accuracy of the proposed equations was verified.