• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.485-498
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• 2020

Non-ductile detailing of Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames may lead to structural failure when the structure is subjected to earthquake response. These designs are generally encountered in older RC frames constructed prior to the introduction of the ductility aspect. The failure observed in the beam-column joints (BCJs) and accompanied by excessive column damage. This work examines the seismic performance and failure mode of non-ductile designed RC columns and exterior BCJs. The design was based on the actual building in Tainan City, Taiwan, that collapsed due to the 2016 Meinong earthquake. Hence, an experimental investigation using cyclic testing was performed on two columns and two BCJ specimens scaled down to 50%. The experiment resulted in a poor response in both specimens. Excessive cracks and their propagation due to the incursion of the lateral loads could be observed close to the top and bottom of the specimens. Joint shear failure appeared in the joints. The ductility of the member was below the desired value of 4. This is the minimum number required to survive an earthquake with a similar magnitude to that of El Centro. The evidence provides an understanding of the seismic failure of poorly detailed RC frame structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.383-400
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• 2024

For a conventionally repaired frame-supported-transfer-slab (FSTS) reinforced concrete (RC) structure, both the transfer slab and the beam-to-column and transfer slab-to-column joints remain vulnerable to secondary earthquakes. Aimed at improving the seismic performance of a damaged FSTS RC structure, an innovative retrofitting scheme is proposed, which adopts the sector lead rubber dampers (SLRDs) at joints after the damaged FSTS RC structure is repaired by conventional approaches. In this paper, a series of quasi-static cyclic tests was conducted on a large-scale retrofitted FSTS RC structure. The seismic performance was evaluated and the key test results, including deformation characteristics, damage pattern, hysteretic behaviour, bearing capacity and strains on key components, were reported in detail. The test results indicated that the SLRDs started to dissipate energy under the service level earthquake, and thus prevented damages on the beam-to-column and transfer slab-to-column joints during the secondary earthquakes and shifted the plastic hinges away from the beam ends. The retrofitting scheme of using SLRDs also achieved the seismic design concept of 'strong joint, weak component'. The FSTS RC structure retrofitted by the SLRDs could recover more than 85% bearing capacity of its undamaged counterpart. The hysteresis curves were featured by the inverse "S" shape, indicating good bearing capacity and hysteresis performance. The deformation capacity of the damaged FSTS RC structure retrofitted by the SLRDs met the corresponding codified requirements for the case of the maximum considered earthquake, as set out in the Chinese seismic design code. The stability of the FSTS RC structure retrofitted by the SLRDs, which was revealed by the developed stains of the RC frame and transfer slab, was improved compared with the undamaged FSTS RC structure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.763-774
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• 2012

Reinforced concrete frame structures with masonry infill walls constitute the significant portion of the building stock in Turkey. Therefore it is very important to understand the behavior of masonry infill frame structures under earthquake loads. This study presents an experimental work performed on reinforced concrete (RC) frames with different types of masonry infills, namely standard and locked bricks. Earthquake effects are induced on the RC frames by quasi-static tests. Results obtained from different frames are compared with each other through various stiffness, strength, and energy related parameters. It is shown that locked bricks may prove useful in decreasing the problems related to horizontal and vertical irregularities defined in building codes. Moreover tests show that locked brick infills maintain their integrity up to very high drift levels, showing that they may have a potential in reducing injuries and fatalities related to falling hazards during severe ground shakings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.317-333
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• 2022

Visco-Plastic Damper (VPD) as a passive energy dissipation device with dual behavior has been recently numerically studied. It consists of two bent steel plates and segments with a viscoelastic solid material in between, combining and improving characteristics of both displacement-dependent and velocity-dependent devices. In order to trust the performance of VPD, for the 1st time this paper experimentally investigates prototype damper behavior under a wide range of frequency and amplitude of dynamic loading. A high-axial damping rubber is innovatively proposed as the viscoelastic layer designed to withstand large axial strains and dissipate energy accordingly. Test results confirmed all assumptions about VPD. The behavior of VPD subjected to low levels of excitation is elastic while with increasing levels of excitation, a significant source of energy dissipation is provided through the yielding of the steel elements in addition to the viscoelastic energy dissipation. The results showed energy dissipation of 99.35 kN.m under a dynamic displacement with 14.095 mm amplitude and 0.333 Hz frequency. Lateral displacement at the middle of the device was created with an amplification factor obtained ranging from 2.108 to 3.242 in the rubber block. Therefore, the energy dissipation of viscoelastic material of VPD was calculated 18.6 times that of the ordinary viscoelastic damper.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.217-235
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• 2024

Concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) nowadays are widely used as the main parts of momentous structures, and its connection has gained increasing attention as the complexity in configuration and load transfer mechanism. This paper proposes a novel CFST pier-to-footing incorporating tube-confined RC encasement. Such an innovative approach offers several benefits, including expedited on-site assembly, effective confinement, and collision resistance and corrosion resistance. The seismic behavior of such CFST pier-to-footing connection was studied by testing eight specimens under quasi-static cyclic lateral load. In the experimental research, the influences on the seismic behavior and the order of plastic hinge formation were discussed in detail by changing the footing height, axial compression ratio, number and length of anchored bars, and type of confining tube. All the specimens showed sufficient ductility and energy dissipation, without significant strength degradation. There is no obvious failure in the confined footing, while local buckling can be found in the critical section of the pier. It suggests that the footing provides satisfactory strength protection for the connection.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.483-491
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• 2008

There has been much focus on the strong axis steel moment connections after the Northridge earthquake in 1994. However, research studieson the seismic behavior of weak axis moment connections could be hardly found despite the fact that these connection details have been frequently used as seismic details of MRF in Korea. Therefore, the objective of this research is to provide better knowledge on the seismic behavior of weak-axis steel moment connections, which can be widely applicable to many structures with similar characteristics. For this purpose, an experimental program was designed and performed with twotypes of weak-axis steel moment connections, namely the bracket type and WUF-B type, based on the survey of existing field data and literatures. Using the experimental results obtained from the quasi-static cyclic testing of these specimens, structural performances of the joints such as hysteretic curves, maximum strength capacities and the strain of reinforced bars were investigated. From the test results, the bracket-type connection was shown to have more than a 5% story drift capacity, compared with the WUF-B type connection's 4%. These specimens were also shown to have higher strength capacities than the nominal design strength. The bracket-type connection showed a slow strength degradation after maximum strength was researched. However,the WUF-B type connection showed a rapid strength degradation that caused brittle behavior.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1561-1580
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• 2015

No significant improvement has been observed on the seismic performance of the ordinary steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns compared with the reinforced concrete (RC) columns mainly because I, H or core cross-shaped steel cannot provide sufficient confinement for core concrete. Two improved SRC columns by constructing with new-type section steel were put forward on this background: a cross-shaped steel whose flanges are in contact with concrete cover by extending the geometry of webs, and a rotated cross-shaped steel whose webs coincide with diagonal line of the column's section. The advantages of new-type SRC columns have been proved theoretically and experimentally, while construction measures and seismic behavior remain unclear when the new-type columns are joined onto SRC beams. Seismic behavior of SRC joints with new-type section steel were experimentally investigated by testing 5 specimens subjected to low reversed cyclic loading, mainly including the failure patterns, hysteretic loops, skeleton curves, energy dissipation capacity, strength and stiffness degradation and ductility. Effects of steel shape, load angel and construction measures on seismic behavior of joints were also analyzed. The test results indicate that the new-type joints display shear failure pattern under seismic loading, and steel and concrete of core region could bear larger load and tend to be stable although the specimens are close to failure. The hysteretic curves of new-type joints are plumper whose equivalent viscous damping coefficients and ductility factors are over 0.38 and 3.2 respectively, and this illustrates the energy dissipation capacity and deformation ability of new-type SRC joints are better than that of ordinary ones with shear failure. Bearing capacity and ductility of new-type joints are superior when the diagonal cross-shaped steel is contained and beams are orthogonal to columns, and the two construction measures proposed have little effect on the seismic behavior of joints.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.133-148
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• 2021

The paper presents a simplified force-based seismic design procedure for the preliminary design of steel haunch retrofitting for the seismic upgrade of deficient RC frames. The procedure involved constructing a site-specific seismic design spectrum for the site, which is transformed into seismic base shear coefficient demand, using an applicable response modification factor, that defines base shear force for seismic analysis of the structure. Recent experimental campaign; involving shake table testing of ten (10), and quasi-static cyclic testing of two (02), 1:3 reduced scale RC frame models, carried out for the seismic performance assessment of both deficient and retrofitted structures has provided the basis to calculate retrofit-specific response modification factor Rretrofitted. The haunch retrofitting technique enhanced the structural stiffness, strength, and ductility, hence, increased the structural response modification factor, which is mainly dependent on the applied retrofit scheme. An additional retrofit effectiveness factor (ΩR) is proposed for the deficient structure's response modification factor Rdeficient, representing the retrofit effectiveness (ΩR=Rretrofitted /Rdeficient), to calculate components' moment and shear demands for the retrofitted structure. The experimental campaign revealed that regardless of the deficient structures' characteristics, the ΩR factor remains fairly the unchanged, which is encouraging to generalize the design procedure. Haunch configuration is finalized that avoid brittle hinging of beam-column joints and ensure ductile beam yielding. Example case study for the seismic retrofit designs of RC frames are presented, which were validated through equivalent lateral load analysis using elastic model and response history analysis of finite-element based inelastic model, showing reasonable performance of the proposed design procedure. The proposed design has the advantage to provide a seismic zone-specific design solution, and also, to suggest if any additional measure is required to enhance the strength/deformability of beams and columns.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.17 no.5 s.89
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• pp.673-678
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• 2005

ACI 318 (1999) defines three types of moment frames: Ordinary Moment Resisting Concrete Frame (OMRCF), Intermediate Moment Resisting Concrete Frame (IMRCF), and Special Moment Resisting Concrete Frame (SMRCF). OMRCF is the most popular type of moment frame in mild seismic zones that requires the least detail and design requirements. This study focuses on the seismic performance of Ordinary Moment Resisting Concrete Frames (OMRCF) designed only for gravity loads. For this purpose a 3-story OMRCF was designed in compliance with the minimum design requirements in ACI 318 (1999). An one third 3 story specimen was made and tested. For scaled model, the similitude law of true replica was applied. The specimen was loaded with quasi-static reversed cyclic lateral loading. The overall behavior of OMRCF is quite stable without abrupt strength degradation. It is found that tested frame has the base shear strength larger than the design base shear for seismic zone 1, 2A and 2B calculated using UBC 1997.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.823-840
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• 2016

The plastic hinge lengths of beams and columns are a critical demand parameter in the nonlinear analysis of structures using the finite element method. The numerical model of a plastic hinge plays an important role in evaluating the response and damage of a structure to earthquakes or other loads causing the formation of plastic hinges. Previous research demonstrates that the plastic hinge length of reinforced concrete (RC) columns is closely related to section size, reinforcement ratio, reinforcement strength, concrete strength, axial compression ratio, and so on. However, because of the limitations of testing facilities, there is a lack of experimental data on columns with large section sizes and high axial compression ratios. In this work, we conducted a series of quasi-static tests for columns with large section sizes (up to 700 mm) and high axial compression ratios (up to 0.6) to explore the propagation of plastic hinge length during the whole loading process. The experimental results show that besides these parameters mentioned in previous work, the plastic hinge of RC columns is also affected by loading amplitude and size effect. Therefore, an approach toward considering the effect of these two parameters is discussed in this work.