• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2696-2707
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of various structural modeling schemes for evaluating seismic performances and fragility of the reactor containment building (RCB) structure in the advanced power reactor 1400 (APR1400) nuclear power plant (NPP). Four structural modeling schemes, i.e. lumped-mass stick model (LMSM), solid-based finite element model (Solid FEM), multi-layer shell model (MLSM), and beam-truss model (BTM), are developed to simulate the seismic behaviors of the containment structure. A full three-dimensional finite element model (full 3D FEM) is additionally constructed to verify the previous numerical models. A set of input ground motions with response spectra matching to the US NRC 1.60 design spectrum is generated to perform linear and nonlinear time-history analyses. Floor response spectra (FRS) and floor displacements are obtained at the different elevations of the structure since they are critical outputs for evaluating the seismic vulnerability of RCB and secondary components. The results show that the difference in seismic responses between linear and nonlinear analyses gets larger as an earthquake intensity increases. It is observed that the linear analysis underestimates floor displacements while it overestimates floor accelerations. Moreover, a systematic assessment of the capability and efficiency of each structural model is presented thoroughly. MLSM can be an alternative approach to a full 3D FEM, which is complicated in modeling and extremely time-consuming in dynamic analyses. Specifically, BTM is recommended as the optimal model for evaluating the nonlinear seismic performance of NPP structures. Thereafter, linear and nonlinear BTM are employed in a series of time-history analyses to develop fragility curves of RCB for different damage states. It is shown that the linear analysis underestimates the probability of damage of RCB at a given earthquake intensity when compared to the nonlinear analysis. The nonlinear analysis approach is highly suggested for assessing the vulnerability of NPP structures.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.597-604
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• 2006

The seismic safety of the prestressed concrete containment building was evaluated by the seismic fragility analysis based on the nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses. Four kinds of earthquake ground motions were used for the seismic fragility analysis of the containment building to consider the potential earthquake hazard. The conventional seismic fragility analysis of the safety related structures in nuclear pouter plant have been performed by using the linear elastic analysis results for the seismic design. In this study, the displacement based seismic fragility analysis method was proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.3100-3111
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• 2021

Numerical modeling for the safety-related equipment used in a nuclear power plant (i.e., cabinet facilities) plays an essential role in seismic risk assessment. A full finite element model is often time-consuming for nonlinear time history analysis due to its computational modeling complexity. Thus, this study aims to generate a simplified model that can capture the nonlinear behavior of the electrical cabinet. Accordingly, the distributed plasticity approach was utilized to examine the stiffness-degradation effect caused by the local buckling of the structure. The inherent dynamic characteristics of the numerical model were validated against the experimental test. The outcomes indicate that the proposed model can adequately represent the significant behavior of the structure, and it is preferred in practice to perform the nonlinear analysis of the cabinet. Further investigations were carried out to evaluate the seismic behavior of the cabinet under the influence of the constitutive law of material models. Three available models in OpenSees (i.e., linear, bilinear, and Giuffre-Menegotto-Pinto (GMP) model) were considered to provide an enhanced understating of the seismic responses of the cabinet. It was found that the material nonlinearity, which is the function of its smoothness, is the most effective parameter for the structural analysis of the cabinet. Also, it showed that implementing nonlinear models reduces the seismic response of the cabinet considerably in comparison with the linear model.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.293-303
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• 2020

Seismic fragility was assessed for non-seismic reinforced concrete shear walls in Korean high-rise apartment buildings in order to implement an earthquake damage prediction system. Seismic hazard was defined with an earthquake scenario, in which ground motion intensity was varied with respect to prescribed seismic center distances given an earthquake magnitude. Ground motion response spectra were computed using Korean ground motion attenuation equations to match accelerograms. Seismic fragility functions were developed using nonlinear static and dynamic analysis for comparison. Differences in seismic fragility between damage state criteria including inter-story drifts and the performance of individual structural members were investigated. The analyzed building had an exceptionally long period for the fundamental mode in the longitudinal direction and corresponding contribution of higher modes because of a prominently insufficient wall quantity in such direction. The results showed that nonlinear static analyses based on a single mode tend to underestimate structural damage. Moreover, detailed assessments of structural members are recommended for seismic fragility assessment of a relatively low performance level such as collapse prevention. On the other hand, inter-story drift is a more appropriate criterion for a relatively high performance level such as immediate occupancy.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

In order to perform a soil-isolation-structure interaction analysis of seismically isolated nuclear power plant (NPP) structures, the nonlinear behavior of a seismic isolation system may be converted to an equivalent linear model used in frequency domain analysis. Seismic responses for seismically isolated NPP containment structures subjected to a simple artificial acceleration history and different site class earthquakes are evaluated for the equivalent-linear and nonlinear models that have been applied to lead-rubber bearing (LRB) modeling. It can be observed that the maximum displacements of the equivalent linear model are larger than that of the nonlinear model. From the floor response spectrum analysis for the top of NPP containment structures, it can be observed that the spectral acceleration of an equivalent linear model at about 0.5 Hz frequency is about 2~3 times larger than that of a nonlinear model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.259-268
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• 2017

In this paper, the incremental nonlinear dynamic analysis is used to evaluate the seismic performance of steel moment frame structures. To this purpose, three special moment frame structure with 5, 10 and 15 stories are designed according to the Iran's national building code for steel structures and the provisions for design of earthquake resistant buildings (2800 code). Incremental Nonlinear Analysis (IDA) is performed for 15 different ground motions, and responses of the structures are evaluated. For the immediate occupancy and the collapse prevention performance levels, the probability that seismic demand exceeds the seismic capacity of the structures is computed based on FEMA350. Also, fragility curves are plotted for three high-code damage levels using HASUS provisions. Based on the obtained results, it is evident that increase in the height of the frame structures reduces the reliability level. In addition, it is concluded that for the design earthquake the probability of exceeding average collapse prevention level is considerably larger than high and full collapse prevention levels.9.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.173-180
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• 2006

The seismic responses of a building are affected by the base soil conditions. In this study, linear time-history seismic analysis and nonlinear pushover static seismic analysis were performed to estimate the base shear forces of 3-, 5-, and 7-story steel buildings, considering the rigid and soft soil conditions. Foundation soil stiffness, based on the equivalent static stiffness formula, is used for the damper, one of the Link elements in SAP 2000. The base shear forces of the steel buildings, estimated through time-history analysis using the general-purpose structural-analysis program of SAP 2000, were compared with those calculated using the domestic seismic design code, the UBC-97 design response spectrum. and pushover static nonlinear analysis. The steel buildings designed for gravity and wind loads showed elastic responses with a moderate earthquake of 0.11 g, while the elastic soft-soil layer increased the displacement and the base shear force of the buildings due to soil-structure interaction and soil amplification. Therefore, considering the characteristics of the soft-soil layer, it is more reasonable to perform an elastic seismic analysis of a building's structure during weak or moderate earthquakes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.91 no.4
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• pp.349-355
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• 2024

This paper investigates the influence of the torsional component of earthquake on the nonlinear structural behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. It also estimates the equivalent additional eccentricity that results from this component. For this purpose, we generate torsional accelerograms from translational ones and conduct nonlinear seismic analysis on both regular and irregular structures. The results show that the torsional component has a significant impact on the structural response, especially for irregular structures. The equivalent additional eccentricity of the cases studied was higher than 5% which is the value of accidental eccentricity suggested by many seismic codes.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.151-158
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• 2002

In the present design concept, the nonlinear behaviour of bridges is at lowed under large earthquake. The nonlinearity is, however, localized like pier, bearing, etc. Especially, pier columns are most important members for seismic performance. It is, however, difficult to solve the problem how the nonlinearity of columns should be modelled. In this study, the fiber element is used for modelling pier column. The element is a kind of structural elements like frame element, and it can model the distributed plasticity of plastic hinge. A 3 span continous bridge is taken for seismic analysis. First, the nonlinear static analysis the column at fixed support are performed so that the characteristics of column is analyzed. Second, Linear and nonlinear dynamic analysises using simplified model for longitudinal direction are carried out and the results are analyzed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.2A
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• pp.59-69
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• 2011

Nonlinear static procedures (NSPs) basing on the concept of performance based seismic design have become one of the promising procedures for seismic evaluation of buildings. Although it needs much less computational cost compared to nonlinear time history analysis (NTHA), its usages are limited to simple structures by its inherent restriction to structures wherein the fundamental mode dominates the response. Several new nonlinear static procedures (Modal Pushover Analysis; MPA and Improved Modal Pushover Analysis; IMPA) which can consider higher modes effect were introduced. Nonetheless, its applicability for complex structures such as cable-stayed bridge has not studied yet. This paper focuses on applicability of nonlinear static procedures for the seismic analysis of cable-stayed bridges. Moreover, reliability indexes which can predict analysis procedure's accuracy are introduced.