• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.575-600
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• 2024

During an earthquake on December 29th 2020, the Krško NPP automatically shutdown due to the trigger of the negative neutron flux rate signal on the power range nuclear instrumentation. From the time course of the detector signal, it can be concluded that the fluctuation in the detector signal may have been caused by the mechanical movement of the ex-core neutron detectors or the pressure vessel components rather than the actual change in reactor power. The objective of the analysis was to evaluate the sensitivity of the neutron flux at the ex-core detector position, if the detector is moved in the radial or axial direction. In addition, the effect of the core barrel movement and core inside the baffle movement in the radial direction were analysed. The analysis is complemented by the calculation of the thermal and total neutron flux gradient in radial, axial and azimuthal directions. The Monte Carlo particle transport code MCNP was used to study the changes in the response of the ex-core detector for the above-mentioned scenarios. Power and intermediate-range detectors were analysed separately, because they are designed differently, positioned at different locations, and have different response characteristics. It was found that the movement of the power range ex-core detector has a negligible effect on the value of the thermal neutron flux in the active part of the detector. However, the radial movement of the intermediate-range detector by 5 cm results in 7%-8% change in the thermal neutron flux in the active part of the intermediate-range detector. The analysis continued with an evaluation of the effects of moving the entire core barrel on the ex-core detector response. It was estimated that the 2 mm core barrel radial oscillation results in ~4% deviation in the power and intermediate-range detector signal. The movement of the reactor core inside baffle can contribute ~6% deviation in the ex-core neutron detector signal. The analysis showed that the mechanical movement of ex-core neutron detectors cannot explain the fluctuations in the ex-core detector signal. However, combined core barrel and reactor core inside baffle oscillations could be a probable reason for the observed fluctuations in the ex-core detector signal during an earthquake.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.539-560
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• 2014

Shaking tables are devices for testing structures or structural components models with a wide range of synthetic ground motions or real recorded earthquakes. They are essential tools in earthquake engineering research since they simulate the effects of the true inertial forces on the test specimens. The destructive earthquakes that occurred at the north part of Algeria during the period of 1954-2003 resulted in an initiative from the Algerian authorities for the construction of a shaking simulator at the National Earthquake Engineering Research Center, CGS. The acceleration tracking performance and specifically the inability of the earthquake simulator to accurately replicate the input signal can be considered as the main challenge during shaking table test. The objective of this study is to validate the uni-axial sinusoidal performances curves and to assess the accuracy and fidelity in signal reproduction using the advanced adaptive control techniques incorporated into the MTS Digital controller and software of the CGS shaking table. A set of shake table tests using harmonic and earthquake acceleration records as reference/commanded signals were performed for four test configurations: bare table, 60 t rigid mass and two 20 t elastic specimens with natural frequencies of 5 Hz and 10 Hz.

• 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 ${\pm}0.6M$.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.25-32
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• 2006

We present a imaging method of seismic sources by time reversal propagation of seismic waves. Time-reversal wave propagation is actively used in medical imaging, non destructive testing and waveform tomography. Time-reversal wave propagation is based on the time-reversal invariance and the spatial reciprocity of the wave equation. A signal is recorded by an array of receivers, time-reversed and then back-propagated into the medium. The time-reversed signal propagates back into the same medium and the energy refocuses back at the source location. The increasing power of computers and numerical methods makes it possible to simulate more accurately the propagation of seismic waves in heterogenous media. In this work, a staggered-grid finite-difference solution of the elastic wave equation is employed for the wave propagation simulation. With numerical experiments, we show that the time-reversal imaging will enable us to explore the spatio-temporal history of complex earthquake.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.279-291
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• 2024

The "Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral (KIGAM) Quake" is a web-based open platform developed for publicly serving seismological data from 61 stations operated by KIGAM in Korea. The service provides meta-information related to observatory sites, sensors, and recorders necessary for utilizing the seismological data, as well as mainly observed continuous and strong-motion waveforms. The data is available through both the web and International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks (FDSN) web services (open API), a unified data-providing interface in seismology. The platform aims to strengthen its open nature by offering a signal processing function for strong ground motions that can be controlled by user requests. The processed results can be downloaded in ASCII format, designed to meet the increased demands and accessibility in the earthquake engineering field. The platform also offers earthquake research information produced by KIGAM, such as recent major earthquake source information and academic annual report of earthquakes. Additionally, a site flat file was constructed for the geotechnical characteristics of 61 KIGAM station (KGNET) sites based on direct investigations and estimations.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.238-246
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• 2003

By using simulated ground motions, which is sum of earthquake signals and noise, we measured the distortion of response spectra due to noise. We found that the distortion is more closely related to the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of root-mean-square (RMS) measurement than that of conventional peak measurement. Given a S/M ratio, the distortion of absolute acceleration response spectra is independent on the earthquake magnitude, while that of relative displacement response spectra has a strong dependence on the earthquake magnitude. This means that, when we calculate response spectra from time histories, we can efficiently predict the distortion of acceleration response spectra simply by measuring the RMS SJN ratios, or the distortion of displacement response spectra by combining the RMS S/N ratios and the earthquake magnitudes.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.209-221
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• 2009

A control algorithm for seismic protection of building structures based on the theory of variable structural control or sliding mode control is presented. The paper focus in the design of sliding surface. A method for determining the sliding surface by pole assignment algorithm where the poles of the system in the sliding surface are obtained on-line, based on the frequency content of the incoming earthquake signal applied to the structure, is proposed. The proposed algorithm consists of the following steps: (i) On-line FFT process is applied to the incoming part of the signal and its frequency content is recognized. (ii) A transformation of the frequency content to the complex plane is performed and the desired location of poles of the controlled structure on the sliding surface is estimated. (iii) Based on the estimated poles the sliding surface is obtained. (iv) Then, the control force which will drive the response trajectory into the estimated sliding surface and force it to stay there all the subsequent time is obtained using Lyapunov stability theory. The above steps are repeated continuously for the entire duration of the incoming earthquake. The potential applications and the effectiveness of the improved control algorithm are demonstrated by numerical examples. The simulation results indicate that the response of a structure is reduced significantly compared to the response of the uncontrolled structure, while the required control demand is achievable.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2024

In recent years, China's high-speed railway (HSR) line continues to expand into seismically active regions. Analyzing the features of earthquake rail irregularity is crucial in this situation. This study first established and experimentally validated a finite element (FE) model of bridge-track. The FE model was then combined with earthquake record database to generate the earthquake rail irregularity library. The sample library was used to construct a model of desired earthquake rail irregularity based on signal processing (SFT) and hypothesis principle. Finally, the effects of random pier height and random span number on desired irregularity were analyzed. Herein, an equivalent method of calculating earthquake rail irregularities for random structures was proposed. The results of this study show that the amplitude of desired irregularity is found to increase with increasing pier height. When calculating the desired irregularity of a structure with unequal pier heights, the structure can be regarded as that with equal pier heights (taking the largest pier height). For a structure with the span number large than 9, its desired irregularity can be considered equal to that of a 9-span structure. For the structures with both random pier heights and random span number, their desired irregularities are obtained by equivalent calculations for pier height and span number, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.09a
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• pp.391-398
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• 2001

This paper presents the application method of a wavelet theory for identification of the structural dynamic properties of a bridge, which is based on the ambient vibration signal caused by the traffic loadings. The method utilizes the time-scale decomposition of the ambient vibration signal , i . e. the continuous wavelet transform using the Morlet wavelet is used to decompose the ambient vibration signal into the time-scale domain. The applicability of the proposed approach is verified through the reduced scale bridge and automobile system in the laboratory. The results of verification shows that the use of the Morlet wavelet to identify the structural dynamic properties is reasonable and practicable.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.2 s.171
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• pp.155-163
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• 2005

For an unbiased TF (Tansfer Function) estimations we investigate geomagnetic TF derived from ICHEON and YONGIN sites, employing RR (Remote Reference) and SNS (Signal Noise Separation) techniques. The Rh technique, which requires synchronized field variations recorded at a clean remote site, is a reliable method to minimize the bias of TF by uncorrelated noises in magnetic channels. Meanwhile, SNS technique based on the assumption of noise-free remote data can improve the signal-noise level by separating signal TF and noise TF, which is successfully applied to the environments with strong correlated noises. In this study, TF at YONGIN is analyzed using geomagnetic data from ICHEON site as a remote reference, which seem to have somewhat better data quality. The application of Rh technique reduces the bias of TF, which appears in single site robust estimation, and makes curves in the amplitude and phase of TF more smooth as frequency. Futhermore, in order to investigate noise source quantitatively, SNS technique is applied. The results of SNS suggest that dominant noise source seems to be located at western region of YONGIN. This noise source is considered to originate from railway system such as KTX and national subway. which passes through the west regions of YONGIN.