• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2014

In industrial facilities sites, the conventional method determining the earthquake magnitude (M) using earthquake ground-motion records is generally not applicable due to the poor quality of data. Therefore, a new methodology is proposed for determining the earthquake magnitude in real-time based on the amplitude measures of the ground-motion acceleration mostly from S-wave packets with the higher signal-to-ratios, given the Vs30 of the site. The amplitude measures include the bracketed cumulative parameters and peak ground acceleration (As). The cumulative parameter is either CAV (Cumulative Absolute Velocity) with 100 SPS (sampling per second) or BSPGA (Bracketed Summation of the PGAs) with 1 SPS. The arithmetic equations to determine the earthquake magnitude are derived from the CAV(BSPGA)-As-M relations. For the application to broad ranges of earthquake magnitude and distance, the multiple relations of CAV(BSPGA)-As-M are derived based on worldwide earthquake records and successfully used to determine the earthquake magnitude with a standard deviation of ${\pm}0.6M$.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.79-90
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• 2020

4- and 8-storey reinforced-concrete frame buildings are analyzed under the suites of the near-fault pulse-like, and the corresponding spectrally equivalent far-fault ground-motion records. Seismic fragility curves for the slight, moderate, extensive, and complete damage states are developed, and the damage probability matrices, and the mean loss ratios corresponding to the Design Basis Earthquake and the Maximum Considered Earthquake hazard levels are compared, for the investigated buildings and sets of ground-motion records. It is observed that the spectrally equivalent far-fault ground-motion records result in comparable estimates of the fragility curve parameters, as that of the near-fault pulse-like ground-motion records. As a result, the derived damage probability matrices and mean loss ratios using two suites of ground-motion records differ only marginally (of the order of ~10%) for the investigated levels of seismic hazard, thus, implying the potential for application of the spectrally equivalent ground-motion records, for seismic fragility and risk assessment at the near-fault sites.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.6
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• pp.839-852
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• 2012

Earthquake records are often analyzed in various earthquake engineering problems, making time-frequency analysis for such records of primary concern. The best tool for such analysis appears to be based on wavelet functions; selection of which is not an easy task and is commonly carried through trial and error process. Furthermore, often a particular wavelet is adopted for analysis of various earthquakes irrespective of record's prime characteristics, e.g. wave's magnitude. A wavelet constructed based on records' characteristics may yield a more accurate solution and more efficient solution procedure in time-frequency analysis. In this study, a low-pass reconstruction filter is obtained for each earthquake record based on multi-resolution decomposition technique; the filter is then assigned to be the normalized version of the last approximation component with respect to its magnitude. The scaling and wavelet functions are computed using two-scale relations. The calculated wavelets are highly efficient in decomposing the original records as compared to other commonly used wavelets such as Daubechies2 wavelet. The method is further advantageous since it enables one to decompose the original record in such a way that a clear time-frequency resolution is obtained.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.367-392
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• 2020

The specific characteristics of near-field earthquake records can lead to different dynamic responses of bridges compared to far-field records. However, the effect of near-field strong ground motion has often been neglected in the seismic performance assessment of the bridges. Furthermore, damage to horizontally curved multi-frame RC box-girder bridges in the past earthquakes has intensified the potential of seismic vulnerability of these structures due to their distinctive dynamic behavior. Based on the nonlinear time history analyses in OpenSEES, this article, assesses the effects of near-field versus far-field earthquakes on the seismic performance of horizontally curved multi-frame RC box-girder bridges by accounting the vertical component of the earthquake records. Analytical seismic fragility curves have been derived thru considering uncertainties in the earthquake records, material and geometric properties of bridges. The findings indicate that near-field effects reasonably increase the seismic vulnerability in this bridge sub-class. The results pave the way for future regional risk assessments regarding the importance of either including or excluding near-field effects on the seismic performance of horizontally curved bridges.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.181-190
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• 2022

In assessing the seismic safety of nuclear power plants, it is essential to analyze the structures using the observed ground motion. In particular, spatial variation in which the characteristics of the ground motion record differ may occur if the location is different within the site and even if the same earthquake is experienced. This study analyzed the spatial variation characteristics of the ground motion observed at the structure and site using the earthquake records measured at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant. Even if they were located on the same floor within the same unit, there was a difference in response depending on the location. In addition, amplification was observed in Unit 5 compared to other units, which was due to the rock layer having a slower shear wave velocity than the surrounding bedrock. Significant differences were also found in the records of the structure's foundation and the free-field surface. Based on these results, the necessity of considering spatial variation in the observed records was suggested.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.325-339
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• 2013

A number of structural and modal parameters are derived from the strong motion records of an instrumented G + 9 storeyed RC building during Bhuj earthquake, 26 Jan. 2001 in India. Some of the extracted parameters are peak floor accelerations, storey drift and modal characteristics. Modal parameters of the building are also compared with the values obtained from ambient vibration survey of the instrumented building after the occurrence of earthquake. These parameters are further used for calibrating the accuracy of fixed-base Finite Element (FE) models considering structural and non-structural elements. Some conclusions are drawn based on theoretical and experimental results obtained from strong motion records and time history analysis of FE models. An important outcome of the study is that strong motion peak acceleration profile in two horizontal directions is close to FE model in which masonry infill walls are modeled.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.4 s.50
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• pp.45-54
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• 2006

The characteristics of the ground motion attenuation in Korea and Japan were estimated using the earthquake ground motions recorded at the equal distance observation stations by KMA, K-NET and KiK-net of Korea and Japan. The ground motion attenuation equations proposed for Korea and Japan were evaluated by comparing the predicted value fer the Fukuoka earthquake with the observed records. The predicted value from the attenuation equations shows good agreement with the observed records and each other. It can be concluded from this study that the ground motion attenuation equations developed for Japan can be used usefully for the prediction of a ground motion from far field earthquake more than 200 km and for the evaluation of the far field ground motion attenuation equations proposed fer Korea.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.121-128
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• 2024

There are growing concerns that the recently implemented Earthquake Early Warning service is overestimating the rapidly provided earthquake magnitudes (M). As a result, the predicted damages unnecessarily activate earthquake protection systems for critical facilities and lifeline infrastructures that are far away. This study is conducted to improve the estimation accuracy of M by incorporating the observed S-wave seismograms in the near source region after removing the site effects of the seismograms in real time by filtering in the time domain. The ensemble of horizontal S-wave spectra from at least five seismograms without site effects is calculated and normalized to a hypocentric target distance (21.54 km) by using the distance attenuation model of Q(f)=348f^0.52 and a cross-over distance of 50 km. The natural logarithmic mean of the S-wave ensemble spectra is then fitted to Brune's source spectrum to obtain the best estimates for M and stress drop (SD) with the fitting weight of 1/standard deviation. The proposed methodology was tested on the 18 recent inland earthquakes in South Korea, and the condition of at least five records for the near-source region is sufficiently fulfilled at an epicentral distance of 30 km. The natural logarithmic standard deviation of the observed S-wave spectra of the ensemble was calculated to be 0.53 using records near the source for 1~10 Hz, compared to 0.42 using whole records. The result shows that the root-mean-square error of M and ln(SD) is approximately 0.17 and 0.6, respectively. This accuracy can provide a confidence interval of 0.4~2.3 of Peak Ground Acceleration values in the distant range.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.689-699
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• 2017

An energy-based approach for determining earthquake safety of reinforced concrete frame structures is presented. The developed approach is based on comparison of plastic energy capacities of the structures with plastic energy demands obtained for selected earthquake records. Plastic energy capacities of the selected reinforced concrete frames are determined graphically by analyzing plastic hinge regions with the developed equations. Seven earthquake records are chosen to perform the nonlinear time history analyses. Earthquake plastic energy demands are determined from nonlinear time history analyses and hysteretic behavior of earthquakes is converted to monotonic behavior by using nonlinear moment-rotation relations of plastic hinges and plastic axial deformations in columns. Earthquake safety of selected reinforced concrete frames is assessed by using plastic energy capacity graphs and earthquake plastic energy demands. The plastic energy dissipation capacities of the frame structures are examined whether these capacities can withstand the plastic energy demands for selected earthquakes or not. The displacements correspond to the mean plastic energy demands are obtained quite close to the displacements determined by using the procedures given in different seismic design codes.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.759-774
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• 2017

Earthquake concerns have grown after a remarkable earthquake incident on September 12th, 2016 in Gyeongju, Korea. Earthquake forecasting is gaining in importance in order to guarantee infrastructure safety and develop protection policies. In this paper, we adopt a power-law distribution model to fit past earthquake occurrences in Korea with various historical and modern seismological records. We estimated power-law distribution parameters using empirical distributions and calculated the future probabilities for large earthquake events based on our model. We provide the probability that a future event has a larger magnitude than given levels, and the probability that a future event over certain levels will occur in a given period of time. This model contributes to the assessment of latent seismological risk in Korea by estimating future earthquake probabilities.