• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to investigate experimentally the behavior of unreinforced masonry RC frames strengthened by CFRP sheet under cyclic lateral loading. Four test specimens were constructed as one-story, one-bay, 1/2 scale unreinforced masonry infilled RC frames and differences in strength and stiffness were evaluated in specimens on which had been applied different retrofitting methods. Test results indicated that the CFRP sheets significantly increased the strength and stiffness of the specimens, and the specimens retrofitted in columns and masonry indicated the most adequate retrofitting methods.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.57-70
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• 2024

Masonry arch bridges as a vital infrastructure were not designed for seismic loads. Given that masonry arch bridges are made up of various components, their contribution under the seismic actions can be very undetermined and each of these structural components can play a different role in energy dissipation. Iran is known as a high-risk area in terms of seismic excitations and according to the seismic hazard zoning classification of Iran, most of these railway infrastructures are placed in the high and very high seismicity zones or constructed near the major faults. Besides, these ageing structures are deteriorated and thus in recent years, some of these bridges using various retrofitting approaches, including sprayed concrete technique are strengthened. Therefore, investigating the behavior of these restored structures with new characteristics is very significant. The aim of this study is to investigate the cyclic in-plane performance of masonry arch bridges retrofitted by sprayed concrete technique through the finite element simulation. So, by considering the fill-arch interaction, the nonlinear behavior of a bridge has been investigated. Finally, by extracting the hysteresis and enveloping curves of the retrofitted and non-retrofitted bridge, the effect of strengthening on energy absorption and degradation of material has been investigated.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.451-466
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• 2020

In this paper, the effect of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) on the lateral strength of a bearing unreinforced Masonry (URM) wall, was experimentally and numerically investigated. Two half scale solid walls were constructed and were tested under quasi-static lateral loading. The first specimen was an un-retrofitted masonry wall (reference wall) while the second one was retrofitted by ECC mortar connected to the wall foundation via steel rebar dowels. The effect of pre-compression level, ECC layer thickness and one or double-side retrofitting on the URM wall lateral strength was numerically investigated. The validation of the numerical model was carried out from the experimental results. The results indicated that the application of ECC layer increases the wall lateral strength and the level of increment depends on the above mentioned parameters. Increasing pre-compression levels and the lack of connection between the ECC layer and the wall foundation reduces the influence of the ECC mortar on the wall lateral strength. In addition, the wall failure mode changes from flexure to the toe-crashing behavior. Furthermore, in the case of ECC layer connected to the wall foundation, the ECC layer thickness and double-side retrofitting showed a significant effect on the wall lateral strength. Finally, a simple method for estimating the lateral strength of retrofitted masonry walls is presented. The results of this method is in good agreement with the numerical results.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.207-223
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• 2013

Practical seismic assessment and design of retrofit for the multitude of small ecclesiastical monuments that abound in the Balkans is the subject of this work. Application of the proposed procedures and methodologies are illustrated in an example case study, a small byzantine church located in Western Greece, which is the region with the highest seismicity in Europe. The church, known as the Fragavilla Monastery, had remained almost undamaged for 800 years, until 1993 when the Pyrgos earthquake caused critical damage mainly in the vaults. Linear elastic analysis to the recorded ground motion, capped by a biaxial failure criterion reproduced the developed damage. The same modelling and analysis procedure was subsequently used for assessment of the intended retrofitting measures. Proposed retrofitting measures included mitigation of the undesirable implications of past interventions along with a combination of strengthening schemes with externally bonded AFRPs strategically placed in the structure. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions is gauged by successful reduction of stress intensity in the critical regions and mitigation of stress localization throughout the structure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.57-82
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• 2014

The heritage value of the mixed wood-masonry 18th century Pombalino buildings of downtown Lisbon is recognized both nationally and internationally. The present paper focuses on the seismic assessment of global response and retrofitting of a typical Pombalino building by nonlinear static analyses, performed by the research software Tremuri, which is able to model 3D configurations. The structure is modelled using nonlinear beams for masonry panels, while in case of the internal walls (frontal walls) an original formulation has been developed in order to take into account their specific seismic behaviour. Floors are modelled as orthotropic membrane finite elements: this feature allows to simulate the presence of both flexible and rigid diaphragms, being the first ones more representative of the original state while the second ones of retrofitted configurations. Seismic assessment has been evaluated by applying nonlinear static procedure and comparing the performance of different configurations (by considering various retrofitting strategies). Finally, assuming a lognormal cumulative distribution, fragility curves are obtained to be representative of Pombalino buildings: the most important application of such curves is for seismic risk and loss estimation analyses.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.477-497
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• 2013

This paper reports extensive experimental study done to compare workability and bond strength of five different types of polymer-based bonding agents for reinforcing bars in pinning retrofit. In pinning retrofit, steel pins of 6 to 10 mm diameters are inserted into holes drilled diagonally from mortar joints. This technique is superior to other techniques especially in retrofitting historic masonry constructions because it does not change the appearance of constructions. With an ordinary cement paste as bonding agent, it is very difficult to insert reinforcing bars at larger open times due to poor workability and very thin clearance available. Here, open time represents the time interval between the injection of bonding agent and the insertion of reinforcing bars. Use of polymer-cement paste (PCP), as bonding agent, is proposed in this study, with investigation on workability and bond strengths of various PCPs in brick masonry, at open times up to 10 minutes, which is unavoidable in practice. Corresponding nonlinear finite element models are developed to simulate the experimental observations. From the experimental and analytical study, the Styrene-Butadiene Rubber polymer-cement paste (SBR-PCP) with prior pretreatments of drilled holes showed strong bond with minimum strength variation at larger open times.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.309-325
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• 2015

A convenient procedure for seismic retrofit of existing buildings is to use passive control methods, like using friction dampers in steel frames with bracing systems. In this method, reduction of seismic demand and increase of ductility generally improve seismic performance of the structures. Some of its advantages are development of a stable rectangular hysteresis loop and independence on environmental conditions such as temperature and loading rate. In addition to friction dampers, masonry-infill panels improve the seismic resistance of steel structures by increasing lateral strength and stiffness and reducing story drifts. In this study, the effect of masonry-infill panels on seismic performance of a three-span four-story steel frame with Pall friction dampers is investigated. The results show that friction dampers in the steel frame increase the ductility and decrease the drift (to less than 1%). The infill panels fulfill their function during the imposed drift and increase structural strength. It can be concluded that infill panels together with friction dampers, reduced structural dynamic response. These infill panels dissipated input earthquake energy from 4% to 10%, depending on their thickness.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2022

Based on the nonlinear static analysis and the approximate seismic evaluation method adopted in "Guidelines for seismic performance evaluation for existing buildings, two methods to calculate strength demand for retrofitting individual structural walls in unreinforced masonry buildings are proposed." The displacement coefficient method to determine displacement demand from nonlinear static analysis results is used for the inverse calculation of overall strength demand required to reduce the displacement demand to a target value meeting the performance objective of the unreinforced masonry building to retrofit. A preliminary seismic evaluation method to screen out vulnerable buildings, of which detailed evaluation is necessary, is utilized to calculate overall strength demand without structural analysis based on the difference between the seismic demand and capacity. A system modification factor is introduced to the preliminary seismic evaluation method to reduce the strength demand considering inelastic deformation. The overall strength demand is distributed to the structural walls to retrofit based on the wall stiffness, including the remaining walls or otherwise. Four detached residential houses are modeled and analyzed using the nonlinear static and preliminary evaluation procedures to examine the proposed method.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.233-256
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• 2011

This paper investigates the applicability of newly developed Cu-Al-Mn shape memory alloy (SMA) bars to retrofitting of historical masonry constructions by performing quasi-static tests of half-scale brick walls subjected to cyclic out-of-plane flexure. Problems associated with conventional steel reinforcing bars lie in pinching, or degradation of stiffness and strength under cyclic loading, and in their inability to restrain residual deformations in structures during and after intense earthquakes. This paper attempts to resolve the problems by applying newly developed Cu-Al-Mn SMA bars, characterized by large recovery strain, low material cost, and high machinability, as partial replacements for steel bars. Three types of brick wall specimens, unreinforced, steel reinforced, and SMA reinforced specimens are prepared. The specimens are subjected to quasi-static cyclic loading up to rotation angle enough to cause yielding of reinforcing bars. Corresponding nonlinear finite element models are developed to simulate the experimental observations. It was found from the experimental and numerical results that both the steel reinforced and SMA reinforced specimens showed substantial increment in strength and ductility as compared to the unreinforced specimen. The steel reinforced specimen showed pinching and significant residual elongation in reinforcing bars while the SMA reinforced specimen did not. Both the experimental and numerical observations demonstrate the superiority of Cu-Al-Mn SMA bars to conventional steel reinforcing bars in retrofitting historical masonry constructions.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.127-132
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• 2013

This study proposed proposes a retrofitting method using an H-beam frame to improve the seismic performance of non-seismic designed reinforced concrete frames. To evaluate the seismic performance with the H-beam frames, a cyclic lateral load test was performed and the experimental result was compared with the bared frame, and a masonry infilled RC frame. The results was were analyzed regarding aspects of the load-displacement hysteresis behavior, effective stiffness, displacement ductility, and cumulative energy dissipation. AlsoIn addition, it was possible to prove both an increase of in the maximum load capacity, effective stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity using the H-beam frame.