• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.161-171
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• 2017

Observed ground motions are composed of three factors such as, seismic source, attenuation, and site amplification effect. Among them, the site amplification characteristics should be considered significantly when estimating seismic source and attenuation characteristics with more confidence. The site effect is also necessary when estimating not only seismic hazard in seismic design engineering but also rock mechanical properties. This study uses the method of H/V spectral ratio of observed ground motion between target site and reference site called a reference site method. In addition to using the vertical Fourier spectrum of the reference site, we try out the horizontal Fourier spectrum as a new method in this study. We analyze H/V spectral ratio of six ground motions respectively, observed at four sites close to Yedang Reservoir. We then compare site amplification effects at each site using 3 kinds of seismic energies including S waves, Coda waves energy, and background noise. The results suggest that each site showed similar site amplification patterns in S waves and Coda waves energy. However, the site amplification of background noise shows much different characteristics from those of S waves and Coda wave energy, which suggests that the background noises at each site have their own developing mechanism. Each station shows its own characteristics of specific resonance frequency and site amplification properties in low, high and specific resonance frequency ranges. Comparison of the method used in this study to the others that used different methods can provide us with more information about the dynamic amplification of a site characteristics and site classification.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.426-433
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• 2019

After an earthquake, fire and gas explosions are more likely to cause more casualties in cities with many apartment buildings and large complex buildings. In order to prevent this, seismic design is necessary for the fire protection sprinkler system. However, most systems currently use stainless-steel pipes, although synthetic resin pipes are used in some special places. These materials are susceptible to vibration and earthquakes. This study evaluated the displacement absorption flexibility of polyethylene (PE) and aluminum (Al) multi-layered composite pipes to increase the seismic performance in a vibration environment and during earthquakes. The seismic performance was compared with that of a stainless-steel and PE pipes. The seismic characteristics can be measured by measuring the amount and extent of vibration transmitted by the sprinkler pipe. This method can be used to judge the seismic characteristics to attenuate the vibration during an earthquake. The seismic characteristics of the pipe were verified by comparing the logarithmic attenuation rate to the initial response displacement of the vibration generated by the transverse vibration measurement method.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.114-129
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• 2017

Background: The purpose of this paper is to confirm the event timings and the magnitude of fission product aerosol release from the Fukushima accident. Over a few hundreds of technical papers have been published on the environmental impact of Fukushima Daiichi accident since the accident occurred on March 11, 2011. However, most of the research used reverse or inverse method based on the monitoring of activities in the remote places and only few papers attempted to estimate the release of fission products from individual reactor core or from individual spent fuel pool. Severe accident analysis code can be used to estimate the radioactive release from which reactor core and from which radionuclide the peaks in monitoring points can be generated. Materials and Methods: The basic material used for this study are the initial core inventory obtained from the report JAEA-Data/Code 2012-018 and the given accident scenarios provided by Japanese Government or Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in official reports. In this research a forward method using severe accident progression code is used as it might be useful for justifying the results of reverse or inverse method or vice versa. Results and Discussion: The release timing and amounts to the environment are estimated for volatile radioactive fission products such as noble gases, cesium, iodine, and tellurium up to 184 hours (about 7.7 days) after earthquake occurs. The in-plant fission product behaviors and release characteristics to environment are estimated using the severe accident progression analysis code, MELCOR, for Fukushima Daiichi accident. These results are compared with other research results which are summarized in UNSCEAR 2013 Report and other technical papers. Also it may provide the physically based arguments for justifying or suspecting the rationale for the scenarios provided in open literature. Conclusion: The estimated results by MELCOR code simulation of this study indicate that the release amount of volatile fission products to environment from Units 1, 2, and 3 cores is well within the range estimated by the reverse or inverse method, which are summarized in UNSCEAR 2013 report. But this does not necessarily mean that these two approaches are consistent.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.499-526
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• 2013

Seismic isolation is an effective method for the protection of buildings and their contents during strong earthquakes. This research work aims to assess the appropriateness of the linear and nonlinear models that can be used in the analysis of typical low-rise base isolated steel buildings, taking into account the inherent nonlinearities of the isolation system as well as the potential nonlinearities of the superstructure in case of strong ground motions. The accuracy of the linearization of the isolator properties according to Eurocode 8 is evaluated comparatively with the corresponding response that can be obtained through the nonlinear hysteretic Bouc-Wen constitutive model. The suitability of the linearized model in the determination of the size of the required seismic gap is assessed, under various earthquake intensities, considering relevant methods that are provided by building codes. Furthermore, the validity of the common assumption of elastic behavior for the superstructure is explored and the alteration of the structural response due to the inelastic deformations of the superstructure as a consequence of potential collision to the restraining moat wall is studied. The usage of a nonlinear model for the isolation system is found to be necessary in order to achieve a sufficiently accurate assessment of the structural response and a reliable estimation of the required width of the provided seismic gap. Moreover, the simulations reveal that the superstructure's inelasticity should be taken into account, especially if the response of the structure under high magnitude earthquakes is investigated. The consideration of the inelasticity of the superstructure is also recommended in studies of structural collision of seismically isolated structures to the surrounding moat wall, since it affects the response.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.205-229
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• 2018

Energy induced by minor earthquake and micro vibration cannot be dissipated by traditional buckling-restrained braces (BRBs). To solve this problem, a new type of hybrid passive control device, named as VE-BRB, which is configured by a BRB with high-damping viscoelastic (VE) layers, is developed and studied. Theoretical analysis, performance tests, numerical simulation and case analysis are conducted to study the seismic behavior of VE-BRBs. The results indicate that the combination of hysteretic and damping devices lead to a multi-phased nature and good performance. VE-BRB's working state can be divided into three phases: before yielding of the steel core, VE layers provide sufficient damping ratio to mitigate minor vibrations; after yielding of the steel core, the steel's hysteretic deformations provide supplemental dissipative capacity for structures; after rupture of the steel core, VE layers are still able to work normally and provide multiple security assurance for structures. The simulation results agreed well with the experimental results, validating the finite element analysis method, constitutive models and the identified parameters. The comparison of the time history analysis on a 6-story frame with VE-BRBs and BRBs verified the advantages of VE-BRB for seismic protection of structures compared with traditional BRB. In general, VE-BRB had the potential to provide better control effect on structural displacement and shear in all stages than BRB as expected.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.319-327
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• 2002

Development of high-strength and light-weight structural steel as well as advancement in steel structure analysis enable construction of long span steel arch bridge. In an economic viewpoint, however, the design values of long span steel arch bridge needs to be optimized to reduce construction cost and achieve proper levels of structural safety. This study investigated the girder depth and the rise-span ratio for optimum design values, as well as the spectral analysis for protection against earthquake. The relationship between rise-span ratio and girder depth was derived based on the parametric studies of the basic span lengths of 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100m using a commercial Cis SAP2000. The equation relating the two variables was derived using linear regression.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.83-90
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• 2018

Considering the increased threats from worldwide terrors and the increased demands on the blast resistant design of commercial buildings, this study is aimed at understanding the basic concept of blast resistant design and evaluating the blast performance with an actual design example. Although there are many differences between earthquake and blast loads, the design concept against both loads is similar in terms of allowing the plastic behavior of a structure and sharing the ductile detailing. Through the blast performance evaluation of a target building provided in this study, it is noted that a well-designed building for the conventional loads can have a certain level of blast resistance. However, this cannot be generalized since the blast load on a structure varies depending on the type of weapon, TNT equivalence, standoff distance, etc. Architectural planning with positioning the sacrificial structure or maintaining a sufficient standoff distance from the expected detonation is the simple and effective way of improving the blast resistance of a building.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.269-282
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• 2015

Civil structures should be designed with the lowest cost and longest lifetime possible and without service failure. The efficient and sustainable use of materials in building design and construction has always been at the forefront for civil engineers and environmentalists. Timber is one of the best contenders for these purposes particularly in terms of aesthetics; fire protection; strength-to-weight ratio; acoustic properties and seismic resistance. In recent years, timber has been used in commercial and taller buildings due to these significant advantages. It should be noted that, since the launch of the modern building standards and codes, a number of different structural systems have been developed to stabilise steel or concrete multistorey buildings, however, structural analysis of high-rise and multi-storey timber frame buildings subjected to lateral loads has not yet been fully understood. Additionally, timber degradation can occur as a result of biological decay of the elements and overloading that can result in structural damage. In such structures, the deficient members and joints require strengthening in order to satisfy new code requirements; determine acceptable level of safety; and avoid brittle failure following earthquake actions. This paper investigates performance assessment and damage assessment of older multi-storey timber buildings. One approach is to retrofit the beams in order to increase the ductility of the frame. Experimental studies indicate that Sprayed Fibre Reinforced Polymer (SFRP) repairing/retrofitting not only updates the integrity of the joint, but also increases its strength; stiffness; and ductility in such a way that the joint remains elastic. Non-linear finite element analysis ('pushover') is carried out to study the behaviour of the structure subjected to simulated gravity and lateral loads. A new global index is re-assessed for damage assessment of the plain and SFRP-retrofitted frames using capacity curves obtained from pushover analysis. This study shows that the proposed method is suitable for structural damage assessment of aged timber buildings. Also SFRP retrofitting can potentially improve the performance and load carrying capacity of the structure.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.307-318
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• 2019

The frequently excessive vibrations presented in civil structures during seismic events or service conditions may result in users' discomfort, or worst, in structures failure, producing economic and even human casualties. This work contributes in proposing the synthesis of a nonlinear optimal control strategy for semiactive structural control, with the main characteristic that the synthesis considers both the structure model and the semiactive actuator nonlinear dynamics, which produces a nonlinear system that requires a nonlinear controller design. The aim is to reduce the unwanted vibrations in the response of civil structures, by means of intelligent fluid semiactive actuator such as the Magnetorheological Damper (MRD), which is a device with a low level of power consumption. The civil structures for which the proposed control methodology can be applied are those admitting a state-dependent coefficient factorized representation model, such as buildings, bridges, among others. A scaled model of a three storey building is analyzed as a case study, whose dynamical response involves displacement, velocity and acceleration of each one of the storeys, subjected to the North-South component of the September 19th., 2017, Puebla-Morelos (7.1M), Mexico earthquake. The investigation rests on comparing the structural response over time for two different conditions: with no control device installed and with one MRD installed between the first floor and the ground, where a nonlinear optimal signal for the MRD input voltage is determined. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller for reducing the building's dynamical response.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2021

In general, the industrial complex is a place where factories of various industries are concentrated. It is only as efficient as it is designed. However, the risks vary as there are various industries. These features are also associated with various types of disasters. The dangers of natural disasters such as a typhoon, flood, and earthquake, as well as fire and explosions, are also latent. Many of these risks can make stable production and business activities difficult, resulting in massive direct and indirect damage. In particular, decades after its establishment, the vulnerabilities increase even more as aging and small businesses are considered. In this sense, it is significant to assess the vulnerability of the industrial complex. Thus analysing fire and explosion hazards as stage 1 of the vulnerability evaluation for the major potential disasters for the industrial complex. First, fire vulnerabilities were analyzed quantitatively. It is displayed in blocks for each company. The assessment block status and the fire vulnerability rating status were conducted by applying the five-step criteria. Level A is the highest potential risk step and E is the lowest step. Level A was 11.8% in 20 blocks, level B was 22.5% in 38 blocks, level C was 25.4% in 43 blocks, level D was 26.0% in 44 blocks, and level E was 14.2% in 24 blocks. Levels A and B with high fire vulnerabilities were analyzed at 34.3%. Secondly, the vulnerability for an explosion was quantitatively analyzed. Explosive vulnerabilities were analyzed at 4.7% for level A with 8 blocks, 3.0% for level B with 5, 1.8% for level C with 3, 4.7% for level D with 8, and 85.8% for level E with 145. Levels A and B, which are highly vulnerable to explosions, were 7.7 %. Thirdly, the overall vulnerability can be assessed by adding disaster vulnerabilities to make future assessments. Moreover, it can also assist in efficient safety and disaster management by visually mapping quantified data. This will also be used for the integrated control center of the N-Industrial Complex, which is currently being installed.