• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.495-505
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• 2009

Bridges form crucial links in the transportation network especially in high seismic risk regions. This research aims to provide a quantitative methodology for post-earthquake performance evaluation of the bridges. The experimental portion of the research involved shake table tests of a 4-span bridge which was subjected to progressively increasing amplitudes of seismic motions recorded from the Northridge earthquake. As part of this project, a high resolution long gauge fiber optic displacement sensor was developed for post-seismic evaluation of damage in the columns of the bridge. The nonlinear finite element model was developed using Opensees program to simulate the response of the bridge and the abutments to the seismic loads. The model was modified to predict the bent displacements of the bridge commensurate with the measured bent displacements obtained from experimental analysis results. Following seismic events, the tangential stiffness matrix of the whole structure is reduced due to reduction in structural strength. The nonlinear static push over analysis using current damaged stiffness matrix provides the longitudinal and transverse ultimate capacities of the bridge. Capacity loss in the transverse and longitudinal directions following the seismic events was correlated to the maximum displacements of the deck recorded during the events.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.295-317
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• 2020

Investigation of the stability of arch dam abutments is one of the most important aspects in the analysis of this type of dams. To this end, the Bakhtiari dam, a doubly curved arch dam having six wedges at each of its abutments, is selected. The seismic safety of dam abutments is studied through time history analysis using the design-based earthquake (DBE) and maximum credible earthquake (MCE) hazard levels. Londe limit equilibrium method is used to calculate the stability of wedges in abutments. The thrust forces are obtained using ABAQUS, and stability of wedges is calculated using the code written within MATLAB. Effects of foundation flexibility, grout curtain performance, vertical component of earthquake, nonlinear behavior of materials, and geometrical nonlinearity on the safety factor of the abutments are scrutinized. The results show that the grout curtain performance is the main affecting factor on the stability of the abutments, while nonlinear behavior of the materials is the least affecting factor amongst others. Also, it is resulted that increasing number of the contraction joints can improve the seismic stability of dam. A cap is observed on the number of joints, above which the safety factor does not change incredibly.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.271-287
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• 2022

This study investigates the bending behavior of a composite concrete slab roof with different methods of externally strengthing using steel plates and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. First, the concrete slab model which was reinforced with CFRP strips on the bottom surface of it is validated using experimental data, and then, using numerical modeling, 7 different models of square-shaped composite slab roofs are developed in ABAQUS software using the finite element modeling. Developed models include steel rebar reinforced concrete slab with variable thickness of CFRP and steel plates. Considering the control sample which has no external reinforcement, a set of 8 different reinforcement states has been investigated. Each of these 8 states is examined with 6 different uncertainties in terms of the properties of the materials in the construction of concrete slabs, which make 48 numerical models. In all models loading process is continued until complete failure occurs. The results from numerical investigations showed using the steel plates as an executive method for strengthening, the bending capacity of reinforced concrete slabs is increased in the ultimate bearing capacity of the slab by about 1.69 to 2.48 times. Also using CFRP strips, the increases in ultimate bearing capacity of the slab were about 1.61 to 2.36 times in different models with different material uncertainties.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.243-260
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• 2023

Indonesia has had seismic codes for earthquake-resistant structures designs since 1970 and has been updated five times to the latest in 2019. In updating the Indonesian seismic codes, seismic hazard maps for design also update, and there are changes to the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA). Indonesian seismic design uses the concept of building performance levels consisting of Immediate occupancy (IO), Life Safety (LS), and Collapse Prevention (CP). Related to this performance level, cases still found that buildings were damaged more than their performance targets after the earthquake. Based on the above issues, this study aims to analyze the performance of base isolation design on existing target buildings and analyze the seismic fragility for a case study in Indonesia. The target building is a prototype design 8-story medium-rise residential building using the reinforced concrete moment frame structure. Seismic fragility analysis uses Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) with Nonlinear Time History Analysis (NLTHA) and eleven selected ground motions based on soil classification, magnitude, fault distance, and earthquake source mechanism. The comparison result of IDA shows a trend of significant performance improvement, with the same performance level target and risk category, the base isolation structure can be used at 1.46-3.20 times higher PGA than the fixed base structure. Then the fragility analysis results show that the fixed base structure has a safety margin of 30% and a base isolation structure of 62.5% from the PGA design. This result is useful for assessing existing buildings or considering a new building's performance.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2024

Self-compacting concrete is widely used around the globe today due to its special and unique properties. This study examines the effect of natural and crushed gravel combinations in different percentages in short-and long-term properties of concrete. The best utilized sand had a fineness modulus of 2.7. In the mentioned mix designs, silica fume was used with 0 and 7% of the weight of the cement. In order to check the properties of fresh and hardened concrete, 9 and 5 test types were performed, respectively. The carried out tests were slump flow, V-funnel, J-ring, L-box, U-box and column segregation for fresh concrete, and compressive, tensile and flexural strengths for hardened concrete. A mix with only 100% natural gravel was considered as the control mix. According to the results, the control mix design and the one containing 100% crushed gravel with silica fume were the best in fresh and hardened concrete tests, respectively. Finally, using the optimization method, a mix design with 25% natural gravel, 75% crushed gravel and silica fume was introduced as the best mix in terms of the results of both fresh and hardened concrete tests.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.3-16
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• 2000

The ultimate safety-goal of nuclear power plants should be targeted at preventing release of nuclear radiation compared to general structures, Accordingly the phases of siting design construction and operation of NPPs are severely regulated by codes of aseismic design so as to assure safety of NPPs. To accomplish this goal strict quality assurace and seismic qualification tests should be conducted for all phases of NPP construction. In addition seismic monitoring systems should be installed and always in operation to provide proper post-earhquake procedures. Besides periodic safety review should be performed during operation along with the seismic margin assessment. In this paper general procedures to secure seismic safety of NPPs are systematically reviewed and additional considerations for improvement are suggested.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.218-225
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• 2000

This paper presents intermediate results of an on-going research for identification of the modal and the stiffness parameters of a bridge based on the ambient vibration data caused by the traffic loadings. The main algorithms consist of the random decrement method incorporating band-pass filters for estimation of the free vibration signals the cross spectral density method for identification of the modal parameters and the neural networks technique for estimation of the element-level stiffness changes. An experimental study is carried out on a scaled bridge model with a composite section subjected to various moving vehicle loadings. Vertical accelerations are measured at several locations on the girder. The estimated frequencies and mode shapes are found to be well-compared with those obtained from the impact tests. The estimated stiffness changes using the neural networks are found to be very good for the case with the simulated data. However the accuracy is found to be not quite satisfactory for the case with the experimental data particularly for the small value of the stiffness changes.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.155-165
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• 2016

A much higher level of seismic performance is needed for supertall buildings due to increased demands for their functional continuities and the recognized needs for their continuing emergence in metropolitan areas. This paper analyzes, compares, and contrasts responses recorded during the 2011 Tohoku-oki Earthquake of different supertall buildings featuring conventional and vibration-controlled engineering systems. The superior performance and advantage of the latter are pointed out, and the typical dynamic properties, response characteristics, and effects on the secondary system are discussed. Ongoing efforts to enhance vibration control performance are described, covering the development of specifications, use of performance curves and targeted displacement design, and methods to find appropriate locations of damper installation resulting in a minimized amount of dampers.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.331-342
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• 2005

This paper presents a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique for detecting damages on a jointed steel plate on the basis of the time of flight and wavelet coefficient, obtained from wavelet transforms of Lamb wave signals. Support vector machines (SVMs), which is a tool for pattern classification problems, was applied to the damage estimation. Two kinds of damages were artificially introduced by loosening bolts located in the path of the Lamb waves and those out of the path. The damage cases were used for the establishment of the optimal decision boundaries which divide each damage class's region from the intact class. In this study, the applicability of the SVMs was investigated for the damages in and out of the Lamb wave path. It has been found that the present methods are very efficient in detecting the damages simulated by loose bolts on the jointed steel plate.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.2225-2235
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• 2004

An observatory termed 'Steel Swing' has been developed, where a 15000 kg pendulum is hanged from a stiff steel frame. A building element can be tested after inserted between the pendulum and the frame. Free vibration, forced vibration tests and earthquake monitoring were performed on an exposed-type steel column base. The response records monitored during natural earthquakes were used to identify the vibration property of the specimen. Identified system gain was approximated by a theoretical gain of linear SDOF system, and the response calculated based on such a linear system agrees with the monitored response fairly well. This research technique can be applied to check the behaviors of new materials and new details of connections and the safety of non-structural elements as well.