• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.4
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• pp.305-315
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• 2023

The idea of the combination of the fractional-order operators with the brain emotional learning-based intelligent controller (BELBIC) is developed for implementation in seismic-excited structures equipped with active mass damper (AMD). For this purpose, a new design framework of the mentioned combination namely fractional-order BEBIC (FOBELBIC) is proposed based on a modified-teaching-learning-based optimization (MTLBO) algorithm. The seismic performance of the proposed controller is then evaluated for a 15-story building equipped with AMD subjected to two far-field and two near-field earthquakes. An optimal BELBIC based on the MTLBO algorithm is also introduced for comparison purposes. In comparison with the structure equipped with a passive tuned mass damper (TMD), an average reduction of 44.7% and 42.8% are obtained in terms of the maximum absolute and RMS top floor displacement for FOBELBIC, while these reductions are obtained as 30.4% and 30.1% for the optimal BELBIC, respectively. Similarly, the optimal FOBELBIC results in an average reduction of 42.6% and 39.4% in terms of the maximum absolute and RMS top floor acceleration, while these reductions are given as 37.9% and 30.5%, for the optimal BELBIC, respectively. Consequently, the superiority of the FOBELBIC over the BELBIC is concluded in the reduction of maximum and RMS seismic responses.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.227-237
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• 2024

The incidence angle of seismic excitation relative to the two orthogonal major axes of structures has been a subject of considerable research interest. Previous studies have primarily focused on single-storey symmetric and asymmetric structures, suggesting a minimal effect of incidence angle on structural behavior. This research extends the investigation to multi-storey structures, including vertically irregular configurations, using a comprehensive set of 20 near fault and 20 far field seismic excitation. The study employs nonlinear time-history analysis with a bidirectional hysteresis model to capture inelastic deformations accurately. Various structural models, including one-storey and two- storey regular structures (R1, R2) and vertically irregular structures with setbacks in one direction (IR1) and both directions (IR2), are analysed. The analysis reveals that the incidence angle has no discernible impact over the response of regular multi-storey structures. However, vertically irregular structures exhibit notable responses at corner columns, which decrease towards central columns, irrespective of the incidence angle. This response is attributed to the inherent mass distribution and stiffness irregularities rather than the angle of seismic excitation. The findings indicate that for both near fault and far field seismic excitation, the incidence angle's impact remains marginal even for complex structural configurations. Consequently, the study suggests that the angle of incidence of seismic excitation need not be a primary consideration in the seismic design of both regular and vertically irregular structures. These conclusions are robust across various structural models and seismic excitation characteristics, providing a comprehensive understanding the impact of incidence angle on seismic response.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.159-169
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• 2020

Acceleration amplification factors, which are variables used in the seismic design of power facilities installed inside substation structures, are presented in the seismic design standards of the United States (US), Japan, and Korea. Unlike the coefficients presented in the design standards of the US and Japan, those presented in domestic design standards can be obtained only by performing dynamic analysis when the substation structure has more than four floors. Because most substation structures in Korea have 4-5 stories, the existing acceleration amplification factor is insufficient to be applied to actual substation structures. To suggest an acceleration amplification factor suitable for domestic substation structure types, the acceleration amplification factor was evaluated for seven representative substation structures. The acceleration amplification factors were evaluated by constructing in-structure response spectra based on a study of far-field and near-fault earthquakes. In general, the acceleration amplification coefficients α_J and α_A according to the US and Japan seismic design criteria tend to be overestimated compared with the acceleration amplification factors obtained through dynamic analysis based on the study of near-fault and far-field earthquakes.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.319-329
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• 2020

Among the bridges used in Korea, those that are more than 30 years old account for approximately 11% of the total bridges. Therefore, developing a seismic performance-evaluation method is necessary by considering the bridge age. Three composite steel-concrete box girder bridges with port, elastic-rubber, and lead-rubber bearings were selected, and a structural analysis model was developed using the OpenSEESs program. In this study, pier aging was reflected by the reduction in the area of the longitudinal and transverse rebars. Four conditions of 5%, 10%, 25%, and 50% in the degree of pier aging were used. As input earthquakes, 40 near-fault and far-field earthquakes were used, and the maximum displacement and maximum shear-force responses of the piers were obtained and compared. The result shows that as the aging degree increases, the pier strength decreases. Therefore, the pier displacement response increases. To analyze the effects of displacement response and shear resistance, displacement ratio D_ratio and shear-force ratio F_ratio were evaluated. The older the sample bridge is, the greater is the tendency of D_ratio to increase and the smaller is the tendency of F_ratio to decrease.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.311-319
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• 2019

The number of aged bridges is increasing so that bridges over 30 years old account for about 11% of all bridges. Consequently, the development of a seismic performance evaluation method that considers the effects of ageing is essential for a seismic retrofitting process for improvement of the seismic safety of existing old bridges. Assessment of the damage situation of bridges after the recent earthquakes in Korea has been limited to the bearings, anchor, and concrete mortar on piers. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the seismic responses of PSC box girder bridges by considering the ageing effect of rubber bearings (RBs) and lead-rubber bearings (LRBs). The modification factor proposed by AASHTO is used to take into account the ageing effect in the bearings. PSC box girder bridges with RBs and LRBs were 3D modeled and analyzed with the OpenSEES program. In order to evaluate the ageing effect of RBs and LRBs, 40 near fault and 40 far field records were used as the input earthquakes. When considering the effect of ageing, the displacement responses and shear forces of bridge bearings (RBs and LRBs) were found to increase mostly under the analytical conditions. It was shown that the effect of ageing is greater in the case of RBs than in the case of LRBs.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.17 no.3_4
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• pp.539-556
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• 2004

In this paper, the design, fabrication and characterization of a piezoelectric friction damper are presented. It was sized with the proposed practical procedure to minimize the story drift and floor acceleration of an existing 1/4-scale, three-story frame structure under both near-fault and far-field earthquakes. The design operation friction force in kip was numerically determined to range from 2.2 to 3.3 times the value of the peak ground acceleration in g (gravitational acceleration). Experimental results indicated that the load-displacement loop of the damper is nearly rectangular in shape and independent of the excitation frequency. The coefficient of friction of the damper is approximately 0.85 when the clamping force on the damper is above 400 lbs. It was found that the friction force variation of the damper generated by piezoelectric actuators with 1000 Volts is approximately 90% of the expected value. The properties of the damper are insensitive to its ambient temperature and remain almost the same after being tested for more than 12,000 cycles.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 2021

Ground motions recorded in near-fault sites, where the rupture propagates toward the site, are significantly different from those observed in far-fault regions. In this research, finite element modeling is used to investigate the effect of pile cap stiffness on the seismic response of soil-pile-structure systems under near-fault ground motions. The Von Wolffersdorff hypoplastic model with the intergranular strain concept is applied for modeling of granular soil (sand) and the behavior of structure is considered to be non-linear. Eight fault-normal near-field ground motion records, recorded on rock, are applied to the model. The numerical method developed is verified by comparing the results with an experimental test (shaking table test) for a soil-pile-structure system. The results, obtained from finite element modeling under near-fault ground motions, show that when the value of cap stiffness increases, the drift ratio of the structure decreases, whereas the pile relative displacement increases. Also, the residual deformations in the piles are due to the non-linear behavior of soil around the piles.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.455-464
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• 2024

Seismic movements have varying effects on structures based on characteristics of local site. During an earthquake, weak soils are susceptible to damage due to amplified wave amplitudes. Soil-structure interaction issue has garnered increased attention in Türkiye, after devastating earthquakes in Kocaeli Gölcük (1999), Izmir (2020), Kahramanmaraş Pazarcık and Elbistan (2023). Consequently, liquefaction potential has been investigated in detail for different regions of Türkiye, mainly with available field test results. Çankırı, a city located close to North Anatolian Fault, is mainly built on alluvium, which is prone to liquefaction. However, no study on liquefaction hazard has been conducted thus far. In this study, groundwater level map, SPT map, and liquefaction risk map have been generated using Geographical Information System (GIS) for the Buğday Pazarı District of Çankırı province. Site investigations studies previously performed for 47 parcels (76 boreholes) were used within the scope of this study. The liquefaction assessment was conducted using Seed and Idriss's (1971) simplified method and the visualization of areas susceptible to liquefaction risk has been accomplished. The results of this study have been compared with the City Council's precautionary map which is currently in use. As a result of this study, it is recommended that minimum depth of boreholes in the region should be at least 30m and adequate number of laboratory tests particularly in liquefiable areas should be performed. Another important recommendation for the region is that detailed investigation should be performed by local authorities since findings of this study differ from currently used precautionary map.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.147-160
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• 2017

In this study, the optimum parameters of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) are proposed using Gravity Search Algorithm (GSA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to reduce the responses of the structures. A MATLAB program is developed to apply the new approach to the benchmark 10 and 40-story structures. The obtained results are compared to those of other optimization methods used in the literature to verify the developed code. To show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed methods, nine far-field and near-field worldwide earthquakes are applied to the structures. The results reveal that in the 40-story structure, GSA algorithm can reduce the Relative Displacement (RD) and Absolute Acceleration (AA) up to 43% and 21%, respectively while the PSO decreases them by 50% and 25%, respectively. In contrast, both GSA and PSO algorithms reduce the RD and AA about 29% and 21% for the 10-story structure. Furthermore, using the proposed approach the required TMD parameters reduce by 47% and 63% in the 40 and 10-story buildings in comparison with the referenced ones. Result evaluation and related comparison indicate that these methods are more effective even by using smaller TMD parameters resulting in the reduction of acting force from TMD, having smaller stiffness and damping factors while being more cost effective due to its decreased parameters. In other words, the TMD with optimum parameters can play a positive role in both tall and typical structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2023

The maximum drifts are important to the seismic evaluation of steel buildings and connections, but the information can hardly be obtained from the post-earthquake field investigation. This research studies the feasibility of using the loss rate of bolt pretension as an earthquake damage predictor. Full-scale tests were made on four steel connections using bolted-web-welded-flange details. One connection was unreinforced (UN), another was reinforced with double shear plates (DS), and the other two used reduced beam sections (RBS). The preinstalled strain gauges were used to control the pretensions and monitor the losses of the high-strength bolts. The results showed that the loss rate of bolt pretension was highly related to the damage of the connections. The pretensions lost up to 10% in all the connections at the yield drifts of 0.5% to 1%. After yielding of the connections, the pretensions lost significantly until fracture occurred. The UN and DS connections failed with a maximum drift of 4 %, and the two RBS connections showed better ductility and failed with a maximum drift of 6%. Under the far-field-type loading protocol, the loss rate grew to 60%. On the contrary, the rate for the specimen under near-fault-type loading protocol was about 40%. The loss rate of bolt pretension is therefore recommended to use as an earthquake damage predictor. Additionally, the 10% and 40% loss rates are recommended to predict the limit states of connection yielding and maximum strength, respectively, and to define the performance levels of serviceability and life-safety for the buildings.