• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.383-397
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• 2018

Traditional base isolation systems focus on isolating the seismic response of a structure in the horizontal direction. However, in regions where the vertical earthquake excitation is significant (such as near-fault region), a traditional base-isolated building exhibits a significant vertical vibration. To eliminate this shortcoming, a rocking-isolated system named Telescopic Column (TC) is proposed in this paper. Detailed rocking and isolation mechanism of the TC system is presented. The seismic performance of the TC is compared with the traditional elastomeric bearing (EB) and friction pendulum (FP) base-isolated systems. A 4-storey reinforced concrete moment-resisting frame (RC-MRF) is selected as the reference superstructure. The seismic response of the reference superstructure in terms of column axial forces, base shears, floor accelerations, inter-storey drift ratios (IDR) and collapse margin ratios (CMRs) are evaluated using OpenSees. The results of the nonlinear dynamic analysis subjected to multi-directional earthquake excitations show that the superstructure equipped with the newly proposed TC is more resilient and exhibits a superior response with higher margin of safety against collapse when compared with the same superstructure with the traditional base-isolation (BI) system.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.45-55
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• 2011

In this study, the state of the art and characteristics of major Korean port structures were investigated and analyzed. Damage of port structures during earthquakes, evaluation systems of seismic damage and seismic designs have also been investigated. Based on the research, a methodology of seismic damage estimation was proposed considering geotechnical information and the characteristics of the fragility of port structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.389-402
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• 2019

Reinforced concrete walls and buckling restrained braces are effective structural elements that are used to resist seismic loads. In this paper, the behavior of the reinforced concrete walls coupled with buckling restrained braces is investigated. In such a system, there is not any conventional reinforced concrete coupling beam. The coupling action is provided only by buckling restrained braces that dissipate energy and also cause coupling forces in the wall piers. The studied structures are 10-, 20- and 30-story ones designed according to the ASCE, ACI-318 and AISC codes. Wall nonlinear model is then prepared using the fiber elements in PERFORM-3D software. The responses of the systems subjected to the forward directivity near-fault (NF) and ordinary far-fault (FF) ground motions at maximum considered earthquake (MCE) level are studied. The seismic responses of the structures corresponding to the inter-story drift demand, curvature ductility of wall piers, and coupling ratio of the walls are compared. On average, the results show that the inter-story drift ratio for the examined systems subjected to the far-fault events at MCE level is less than allowable value of 3%. Besides, incremental dynamic analysis is used to examine the considered systems. Results of studied systems show that, the taller the structures, the higher the probability of their collapse. Also, for a certain peak ground acceleration of 1 g, the probability of collapse under NF records is more than twice this probability under FF records.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.600-606
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• 2019

Studies on the application of the lead rubber bearing (LRB) isolation system to nuclear power plants are being carried out as one of the measures to improve seismic performance. Nuclear power plants with isolation systems require seismic probabilistic safety assessments, for which the seismic fragility of the structures, systems, and components needs be calculated, including for beyond design basis earthquakes. To this end, seismic response analyses are required, where it can be seen that the behaviors of the isolation system components govern the overall seismic response of an isolated plant. The numerical model of the LRB used in these seismic response analyses plays an important role, but in most cases, the extreme performance of the LRB has not been well studied. The current work therefore develops an extreme nonlinear numerical model that can express the seismic response of the LRB for beyond design basis earthquakes. A full-scale LRB was fabricated and dynamically tested with various input conditions, and test results confirmed that the developed numerical model better represents the behavior of the LRB over previous models. Subsequent seismic response analyses of isolated nuclear power plants using the model developed here are expected to provide more accurate results for seismic probabilistic safety assessments.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2022

One of the key tools in assessing the seismic vulnerability of the structures is the use of fragile functions, which is the possibility of damage from a particular damage surface for several levels of risk from the seismic movements of the earth. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of two categories of earthquake events on the fragile curve (FRC) of the steel construction system. In this study, the relative lateral displacement of the structures is considered as a damage criterion. The limits set for modifying the relative lateral position in the HAZUS instruction are used to determine the failure modes, which include: slight, moderate, extensive and complete. The results show, as time strong-motion increases, the probability of exceeding (PoE) increases (for Peak ground acceleration (PGA) less than 0.5). The increase in seismic demand increases the probability of exceeding. In other words, it increases the probability of exceeding, if the maximum earthquake acceleration increases. Also, 7-storey model in extensive mode has 20 and 26.5% PoE larger than 5- and 3-storey models, respectively.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.385-400
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• 2022

Sky-bridges between adjacent buildings can enhance lateral stiffness and limit the impact of lateral forces. This study analysed the structural capabilities and dynamic performances of sky-bridge-coupled buildings under various sets of ground motions. Finite Element (FE) analyses were carried out with the link being iteratively repositioned along the full height of the structures. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) and probabilistic damage distribution were also applied. The results indicated that the establishment of sky-bridges caused a slight change in the natural frequency and mode shapes. The sky-bridge system was shown to be efficient in controlling displacement and Inter-Storey Drift Ratio (%ISDR) and reducing the probability of damage in the higher floors. The most efficient location of the sky-bridge, for improving its rigidity, was found to be at 88% of the building height. Finally, the effects of two types of materials (steel and concrete) and end conditions (hinged and fixed) were studied. The outcomes showed that coupled buildings with a sky-bridge made of steel with hinged connection could withstand ground motions longer than those made of concrete with fixed connection.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.311-320
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• 2023

When an earthquake occurs, the severity of damage is determined by natural factors such as the magnitude of the earthquake, the epicenter distance, soil properties, and type of the structures in the affected area, as well as the socio-economic factors such as the population, disaster prevention measures, and economic power of the community. This study evaluated the direct economic loss due to building damage and the community's recovery ability. Building damage was estimated using fragility functions due to the design earthquake by the seismic design code. The usage of the building was determined from the information in the building registrar. Direct economic loss was evaluated using the standard unit price and estimated building damage. The standard unit price was obtained from the Korean Real Estate Board. The community's recovery capacity was calculated using nine indicators selected from regional statistical data. After appropriate normalization and factor analysis, the recovery ability score was calculated through relative evaluation with neighboring cities.

• Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.9-22
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• 2012

The most widely excavated iron artifacts used as weapons or farm tools from central southern regions of Korea were subjects of non-metallic inclusion analysis through metallographic examination, microhardness measurement, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Through metallographic interpretation and study of the analyzed results, the steel manufacturing and iron smelting using heat processing in the iron artifacts excavated from the central southern region of the ancient Korean peninsula was studied, and the analysis of the non-metallic inclusions mixed within the metallic structures was interpreted as the ternary phase diagram of the oxide to infer the type of iron ores for the iron products and the temperature of the furnace used to smelt them. Most of the ancient forged iron artifacts showed $Al_2O_3/SiO_2$ with high $SiO_2$ contents and relatively low $Al_2O_3$ contents for iron ore, indicating t hat for $Al_2O_3$ below 5%, it is presumed that magnetic iron ores were reduced to bloom iron (sponge iron) with direct-reduction process for production. The temperature for extraction of wustite for $Al_2O_3$ below 1% was found to be $1,020{\sim}1,050^{\circ}C$. Considering the oxide ternary constitutional diagram of glassy inclusions, the steel-manufacturing temperature was presumed to have been near $1,150{\sim}1,280^{\circ}C$ in most cases, and minimum melting temperature of casting iron part excavated in Daeseong-ri. Gyeonggi was near $1,400^{\circ}C$, and it is thought that hypoeutectic cast iron of about 2.3% carbon was casted and fragility of cast iron was improved by decarburizing in solid state.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.319-325
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• 2021

The 2011 East Japan Earthquake caused accidents at a number of nuclear power plants in Fukushima, highlighting the need for a study on the seismic safety of multiple NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) units. In the case of nuclear power plants built on a site that shows a similar seismic response, there is at least a correlation between the seismic damage of structures, systems, and components (SSCs) of nuclear power plants. In this study, a probabilistic seismic safety assessment was performed for the loss of essential power events of twin units. To derive an appropriate seismic damage correlation coefficient, a probabilistic seismic response analysis was performed. Using the external event mensuration system program, we analyzed the seismic fragility and seismic risk by composing a failure tree of multiple loss of essential power events. Additionally, a comparative analysis was performed considering the seismic damage correlation between SSCs as completely independent and completely dependent.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.515-530
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• 2021

In a tall reinforced concrete (RC) core wall system subjected to strong ground motions, inelastic behavior near the base as well as mid-height of the wall is possible. Generally, the formation of plastic hinge in a core wall system may lead to extensive damage and significant repairing cost. A new configuration of core structures consisting of buckling restrained braced frames (BRBFs) and RC walls is an interesting idea in tall building seismic design. This concept can be used in the plan configuration of tall core wall systems. In this study, tall buildings with different configurations of combined core systems were designed and analyzed. Nonlinear time history analysis at severe earthquake level was performed and the results were compared for different configurations. The results demonstrate that using enough BRBFs can reduce the large curvature ductility demand at the base and mid-height of RC core wall systems and also can reduce the maximum inter-story drift ratio. For a better investigation of the structural behavior, the probabilistic approach can lead to in-depth insight. Therefore, incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) curves were calculated to assess the performance. Fragility curves at different limit states were then extracted and compared. Mean IDA curves demonstrate better behavior for a combined system, compared with conventional RC core wall systems. Collapse margin ratio for a RC core wall only system and RC core with enough BRBFs were almost 1.05 and 1.92 respectively. Therefore, it appears that using one RC core wall combined with enough BRBF core is an effective idea to achieve more confidence against tall building collapse and the results demonstrated the potential of the proposed system.