• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2023

In the present work, a new global damage index is proposed for the seismic performance and failure analysis of concrete gravity dams. Unlike the existing indices of concrete structures, this index doesn't need scaling with an ultimate or an upper value. For this purpose, the Beni-Haroun dam in north-eastern Algeria, is considered as a case study, for which an average seismic capacity curve is first evaluated by performing several incremental dynamic analyses. The seismic performance point of the dam is then determined using the N2 method, considering multiple modes and taking into account the stiffness degradation. The seismic demand is obtained from the design spectrum of the Algerian seismic regulations. A series of recorded and artificial accelerograms are used as dynamic loads to evaluate the nonlinear responses of the dam. The nonlinear behaviour of the concrete mass is modelled by using continuum damage mechanics, where material damage is represented by a scalar field damage variable. This modelling, which is suitable for cyclic loading, uses only a single damage parameter to describe the stiffness degradation of the concrete. The hydrodynamic and the sediment pressures are included in the analyses. The obtained results show that the proposed damage index faithfully describes the successive brittle failures of the dam which increase with increasing applied ground accelerations. It is found that minor damage can occur for ground accelerations less than 0.3 g, and complete failure can be caused by accelerations greater than 0.45 g.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.3
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• pp.313-323
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• 2024

Most of existing buildings in Mexico City are made of reinforced concrete (RC), however, it has been shown that they are very susceptible to narrow-band long duration ground motions. In recent years, the use of dual systems composed by Buckling Restrained Braces (BRB) has increased due to its high energy dissipation capacity under reversible cyclical loads. Therefore, in this work the behavior of RC buildings with BRB is studied in order to know their performance, specifically, the energy distribution through height and response transformation factors between the RC and simplified systems are estimated. For this propose, seven RC buildings with different heights were designed according to the Mexico City Seismic Design Provisions (MCSDP), in addition, equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems were obtained. Incremental dynamic analyses on the buildings under 30 narrow-band ground motions in order to compute the relationship between normalized hysteretic energy, maximum inter-story drift and roof displacement demands were performed. The results shown that the entire structural frames participate in energy dissipation and their distribution is independent of the global ductility. The results let propose energy distribution equations through height. Finally, response transformation factors between the SDOF and multi degree of freedom (MDOF) systems were developed aimed to propose a new energy-based approach of BRB reinforced concrete buildings.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.5-10
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• 2024

Flexible pipes have the property of resisting external loads by utilizing the rigidity of the pipe and the surrounding ground, and have recently been in the spotlight because they are lighter in weight and have excellent durability compared to concrete pipes. In this study, the behavior characteristics of buried polyethylene pipe, a representative flexible pipe, were examined. Double-walled and multi-walled polyethylene pipes were used, and the structural behavior of the polyethylene pipe was evaluated based on a 5% deflection of the pipe diameter suggested in the design standards for flexible pipes. For the polyethylene pipe, the material properties of the pipe were identified through a ring stiffness test, and the behavior characteristics in the ground were reviewed through the simulation experiment of the buried polyethylene pipes. In addition, a finite element analysis model was developed based on the results of underground burial simulation experiments, and the behavior characteristics of polyethylene pipes according to backfill conditions were evaluated using the developed finite element analysis model and design equation. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the capacity of the pipes and the compaction of the backfill are the main factors that determine the structural performance of the buried polyethylene pipe.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.229-235
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• 2019

A floating photovoltaic generation system is a new concept that combines existing photovoltaic generation technology with floating technology. This is installed in the water not on conventional land and a building. The system is designed as a unit module type that can be connected to other modules according to the power generation capacity, thereby forming a large-scale power generation facility. As a renewable energy source, it is composed of a floating structure, mooring device, photovoltaic power generation facility, and underwater cable. Because this system is installed outdoors, the effect of the wind load on the structure is very large. In this study, the wind loads most affected on the floating photovoltaic generation structure were obtained by computational fluid dynamic analysis. The flow characteristics and wind loads were analyzed for a range of wind orientations and angles of inclination. The analysis showed the position and magnitude of the maximum wind load to the wind direction and the flow characteristics around the solar panel and floating system. The wind load increased with increasing angle of inclination of the panel to the ground.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.125-140
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• 2010

Slope stability analysis of the right abutment of a railway bridge proposed at about 350 m above the ground level, crossing a river and connecting two huge hillocks in the Himalayas, India is presented in this paper. The site is located in a highly active seismic zone. The rock slopes are intensely jointed and the joint spacing and orientation are varying at different locations. Static slope stability of the rock slope is studied using equivalent continuum approach through the most commonly used commercial numerical tools like FLAC and SLOPE/W of GEOSTUDIO. The factor of safety for the slope under static conditions was 1.88 and it was reduced by 46% with the application of earthquake loads in pseudo-static analysis. The results obtained from the slope stability analyses confirmed the global stability of the slope. However, it is very likely that there could be possibility of wedge failures at some of the pier locations. This paper also presents the results from kinematics of right abutment slope for the wedge failure analysis based on stereographic projections. Based on the kinematics, it is recommended to flatten the slope from 50o to 43o to avoid wedge failures at all pier locations.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.65-70
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• 2008

The capacity spectrum method (CSM) is a deterministic seismic analysis approach wherein the expected seismic response of a structure is established as the intersection of the demand and capacity curves. Recently, there are a few studies about a probabilistic CSM where uncertainties in design factors such as material properties, loads, and ground motion are being considered. However, researches show that soil-structure interaction also affects the seismic responses of structures. Thus, their uncertainties should also be taken into account. Therefore, this paper presents a probabilistic approach of using the CSM for seismic analysis considering uncertainties in soil properties. For application, a reinforced concrete bridge column structure is employed as a test model. Considering the randomness of the various design parameters, the structure's probability of failure is obtained. Monte Carlo importance sampling is used as the tool to assess the structure's reliability when subjected to earthquakes. In this study, probabilistic CSM with and without consideration of soil uncertainties are compared and analyzed. Results show that the analysis considering soil structure interaction yields to a greater probability of failure, and thus can lead to a more conservative structural design.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.327-335
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• 2020

Concrete pipes are considered important structures playing integral role in spread of cities besides transportation of gas as well as oil for far distances. Further, concrete structures under seismic load, show behaviors which require to be investigated and improved. Therefore, present research concerns dynamic stress and strain alongside deflection assessment of a concrete pipe carrying water-based nanofluid subjected to seismic loads. This pipe placed in soil is modeled through spring as well as damper. Navier-Stokes equation is utilized in order to gain force created via fluid and, moreover, mixture rule is applied to regard the influences related to nanoparticles. So as to model the structure mathematically, higher order refined shear deformation theory is exercised and with respect to energy method, the motion equations are obtained eventually. The obtained motion equations will be solved with Galerkin and Newmark procedures and consequently, the concrete pipe's dynamic stress, strain as well as deflection can be evaluated. Further, various parameters containing volume percent of nanoparticles, internal fluid, soil foundation, damping and length to diameter proportion of the pipe and their influences upon dynamic stress and strain besides displacement will be analyzed. According to conclusions, increase in volume percent of nanoparticles leads to decrease in dynamic stress, strain as well as displacement of structure.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.453-460
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• 2016

Offshore wind turbines are divided into an upper wind turbine and a lower support structure. Offshore wind turbine system is required to secure high reliability for a variety of external environmental conditions compared to ground wind turbines because of additional periodic loads due to ocean wave and current effects. In this study, extreme load analyses have been conducted for the designed offshore wind turbine foundation with weight control functionality using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) then structural analyses have been also conducted to investigate the structural design requirement.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.5-9
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• 2013

In this study, operational vibration experiment and analysis have been conducted for the 4-blade small vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) including the effect of tower elastic behavior. Computational structural dynamics analysis method is applied to obtain Campbell diagram for the VAWT with elastic tower. An open type wind-tunnel is used to change and keep the wind velocity during the ground test. Equivalent elastic tower is used to support the VAWT so that the effect of elastic stiffness of the tower can be considered in the present vibration experiment. Various excitation conditions with wind loads are considered and the dominant operating vibration phenomena are physically investigated in detail.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.4C
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• pp.109-116
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• 2011

In this study, dynamic response of a vertical shaft subjected to seismic loads was evaluated by three-dimensional Finite Element (FE) approach. The emphasis was on quantifying the ground conditions, input motions and direction of motions. A series of parametric analyses were carried out. From the results of FE analysis, more than 1.7 times increase in shear force and bending moment is obtained when the stiff layer was thinker than the soft layer. And all of the maximum values were occurred near the interface between the soil layers. The dynamic behavior of vertical shaft was significantly influenced by the different frequencies of the input motion, and normalized acceleration of surrounding soil was 3 times larger than vertical shaft.