• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.495-508
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• 2018

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) exhibit superelasticity given the ambient temperature is above the austenite finish temperature threshold, the magnitude of which significantly depends on the metal ingredients though. For the monocrystalline CuAlBe SMAs, their superelasticity was found being maintained even when the ambient temperature is down to $-40^{\circ}C$. Thus this makes such SMAs particularly favorable for outdoor seismic applications, such as the framed structures located in cold regions with substantial temperature oscillation. Due to the thermo-mechanical coupling mechanism, the hysteretic properties of SMAs vary with temperature change, primarily including altered material strength and different damping. Thus, this study adopted the monocrystalline CuAlBe SMAs as the kernel component of the SMA braces. To quantify the seismic response characteristics at various temperatures, a wide temperature range from -40 to $40^{\circ}C$ are considered. The middle temperature, $0^{\circ}C$, is artificially selected to be the reference temperature in the performance comparisons, as well the corresponding material properties are used in the seismic design procedure. Both single-degree-of-freedom systems and a six-story braced frame were numerically analyzed by subjecting them to a suite of earthquake ground motions corresponding to the design basis hazard level. To the frame structures, the analytical results show that temperature variation generates minor influence on deformation and energy demands, whereas low temperatures help to reduce acceleration demands. Further, attributed to the excellent superelasticity of the monocrystalline CuAlBe SMAs, the frames successfully maintain recentering capability without leaving residual deformation upon considered earthquakes, even when the temperature is down to $-40^{\circ}C$.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.53-73
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• 2007

In this study, an effective load increment method for multi modal adaptive non-linear static (pushover) analysis (NSA) for building type structures is presented. In the method, lumped plastisicity approach is adopted and geometrical non-linearties (second-order effects) are included. Non-linear yield conditions of column elements and geometrical non-linearity effects between successive plastic sections are linearized. Thus, load increment needed for formation of plastic sections can be determined directly (without applying iteration or step-by-step techniques) by using linearized yield conditions. After formation of each plastic section, the higher mode effects are considered by utilizing the essentials of traditional response spectrum analysis at linearized regions between plastic sections. Changing dynamic properties due to plastification in the system are used on the calculation of modal lateral loads. Thus, the effects of stiffness changes and local mechanism at the system on lateral load distribution are included. By using the proposed method, solution can be obtained effectively for multi-mode whereby the properties change due to plastifications in the system. In the study, a new procedure for determination of modal lateral loads is also proposed. In order to evaluate the proposed method, a 20 story RC frame building is analyzed and compared with Non-linear Dynamic Analysis (NDA) results and FEMA 356 Non-linear Static Analysis (NSA) procedures using fixed loads distributions (first mode, SRSS and uniform distribution) in terms of different parameters. Second-order effects on response quantities and periods are also investigated. When the NDA results are taken as reference, it is seen that proposed method yield generally better results than all FEMA 356 procedures for all investigated response quantities.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.6
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• pp.579-585
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• 2018

Masonry walls are of a complex (anisotropic) structure in terms of their mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of the walls are affected by the properties of the materials used in wall construction, joint thickness and the type of masonry bond. The carried-out studies, particularly in the seismic zones, have revealed that the most of the conventional masonry walls were constructed without considering any engineering approach. Along with that, large-scale damages were detected on such structural elements after major earthquake(s), and such damages were commonly occurred at the brick-joint interfaces. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of joint thickness and also type of mortar on the mechanical behavior of the masonry walls. For this aim, the brick masonry walls were constructed through examination of both the literature and the conventional masonry walls. In the construction process, a single-type of brick was combined with two different types of mortar: cement mortar and hydraulic lime mortar. Three different joint thicknesses were used for each mortar type; thus, a total of six masonry walls were constructed in the laboratory. The mechanical properties of brick and mortars, and also of the constructed walls were determined. As a conclusion, it can be stated that the failure mechanism of the brick masonry walls differed due to the mechanical properties of the mortars. The use of bed joint thickness not less than 20 mm is recommended in construction of conventional masonry walls in order to maintain the act of brick in conjunction with mortar under load.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2011

Pinning force is the mechanism between a superconductor and a permanent magnet and it provides a stable levitation. However, when external force greater than the pinning force such as the earthquake exerts, the levitated object may lose the levitating characteristic. In order to achieve more stabilized levitation, the copper plate was inserted in between a superconductor and permanent magnets. And by applying the eddy current effect caused from the relationship between a copper plate and permanent magnets, more stabilized levitation can be established. In this study, an optimized design was found based on various configurations of permanent magnet's polarity, thickness and area of copper plate, and the gap distance between copper plate and permanent magnet. As results, higher eddy current value was obtained at where the change of polarity exists in permanent magnet configuration, and the highest eddy current value was observed at the copper plate thickness of 5 mm and the area of 80 mm ${\times}$ 80 mm. From the resulted optimized conditions above, which are 7 mm gap distance between a superconductor and permanent magnets and 80 mm ${\times}$ 80 mm ${\times}$ 5 mm dimension of a copper plate, the stiffness value was 65 % increased comparing to without any copper plate insertion.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.587-607
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• 2014

Progressive collapse, which is referred to as the collapse of the entire building under local damages, is a common failure mode happened by earthquakes. The collapse process highly depends on the whole structural system. Since, asymmetry of the building plan leads to the local damage concentration; it may intensify the progressive collapse mechanism of asymmetric buildings. In this research the progressive collapse of regular and irregular 6-story RC ordinary moment resisting frame buildings are studied in the presence of the earthquake loads. Collapse process and collapse propagation are investigated using nonlinear time history analyses (NLTHA) in buildings with 5%, 15% and 25% mass asymmetry with respect to the number of collapsed hinges and story drifts criteria. Results show that increasing the value of mass eccentricity makes the asymmetric buildings become unstable earlier and in the early stages with lower number of the collapsed hinges. So, with increasing the mass eccentricity in building, instability and collapse of the entire building occurs earlier, with lower potential of the progressive collapse. It is also demonstrated that with increasing the mass asymmetry the decreasing trend of the number of collapsed beam and column hinges is approximately similar to the decreasing trend in the average story drifts of the mass centers and stiff edges. So, as an alternative to a much difficult-to-calculate local response parameter of the number of collapsed hinges, the story drift, as a global response parameter, measures the potential of progressive collapse more easily.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.515-530
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• 2020

A new type of pure torsional yielding damper made from steel pipe is proposed and introduced. The damper uses a special mechanism to apply force and therefore applies pure torsion in the damper. Uniform distribution of the shear stress caused by pure torsion resulting in widespread yielding along pipe and consequently dissipating a large amount of energy. The behavior of the damper is investigated analytically and the governing relations are derived. To examine the performance of the proposed damper, four types of the damper are experimentally tested. The results of the tests show the behavior of the system as stable and satisfactory. The behavior characteristics include initial stiffness, yielding load, yielding deformation, and dissipated energy in a cycle of hysteretic behavior. The tests results were compared with the numerical analysis and the derived analytical relations outputs. The comparison shows an acceptable and precise approximation by the analytical outputs for estimation of the proposed damper behavior. Therefore, the relations may be applied to design the braced frame system equipped by the pure torsional yielding damper. An analytical model based on analytical relationships was developed and verified. This model can be used to simulate cyclic behavior of the proposed damper in the dynamic analysis of the structures equipped with the proposed damper. A numerical study was conducted on the performance of an assumed frame with/without proposed damper. Dynamic analysis of the assumed frames for seven earthquake records demonstrate that, equipping moment-resisting frames with the proposed dampers decreases the maximum story drift of these frames with an average reduction of about 50%.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.231-242
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• 2016

Earthquake resistance of RC column-steel beam (RCS) joints with simplified details were studied. Simplified details are necessary for large columns to improve the productivity and constructability. To strengthen the beam-column joint, the effects of transverse beams, studs, and U-cross ties were used. Four 2/3 scale interior RCS connections were tested under cyclic lateral loading. The specimens generally exhibited good deformation capacity exceeding 4.0% story drift ratio after yielding of both beam and beam-column joint. Ultimately, the specimens failed by shear mechanism of the joint panel. The test strengths were compared with the predictions of existing design methods.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.217-225
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• 2013

We carried out geometrical, kinematic, and geomechanical analyses on a lineament (the Imgok fault) near Gangneung, observed in ASTER images and aerial photographs, and field surveys. Earthquake focal mechanism solutions, used to estimate the present-day stress state, revealed that the direction of maximum compression is approximately N$70^{\circ}$E and that the stress condition is in favor of either strike-slip or reverse movement on the fault. The strike of the fault is not ideal for slip under the present-day stress field and thus the fault has a low slip tendency. However, the fault may be able to slip if the frictional coefficient (${\mu}$), representing the resistance of the fault to slip, is sufficiently low (e.g., ${\mu}$ < 0.25).

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.97-106
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• 1993

In order to provide informations for the earth's deep interior and the earthquake mechanism, we have been operating the three components of Streckeisen Seismometers at Pohang Observatory, Korea, as a part of a long period seismic network (POSEIDON) in the northwestern Pacific now under construction. The recording system is specially designed to be able to obtain outputs of broad band and wide dynamic range; BRB (Broad Band), LP (Long Period), and VLP (Very Long Period) output. The triggered BRB and LP signals are digitized with the sampling intervals of 0.1 and 0.4 second, respectively. The lowpass filtered VLP output is digitized and recorded contineously with the sampling interval of 10 seconds. About 120 regional and teleseismic events have been successfully recorded for one and half year since late March, 1991. As a preliminary study, eight events of them are analyzed to determine Rayleigh wave dispersion curves in the period range of 20 to 300 seconds for the continental and oceanic paths. The curves are compared with the typical continental and oceanic ones to discuss the earth's deep interior.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.663-672
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• 2014

Recently, modular structural systems have been applicable to building construction since they can significantly reduce building construction time. They consists of several unit modular frames of which each beam-column joint employs an access hole for connecting unit modular frames. Their structural design is usually carried out under the assumption that their load-carrying mechanism is similar to that of a traditional steel moment-resisting system. In order to obtain the validation of this assumption, the cyclic characteristics of beam-column joints in a unit modular frame should be investigate. This study carried out finite element analyses(FEM) of unit modular frames to investigate the cyclic behavior of beam-column joints with the structural influence of access holes. Analysis results show that the unit modular frames present stable cyclic response with large deformation capacities and their joints are classified into partial moment connections. Also, this study develops a simple spring model for earthquake nonlinear analyses and suggests the Ramberg-Osgood hysteretic rule to capture the cyclic response of unit modular frames.