• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.231-246
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• 2004

In this paper, a comparison of various random vibration and deterministic dynamic analyses of cable-stayed bridges subjected to asynchronous ground motion is presented. Different random vibration methods are included to determine the dynamic behaviour of a cable-stayed bridge for various ground motion wave velocities. As a numerical example the Jindo Bridge located in South Korea is chosen and a 413 DOF mathematical model is employed for this bridge. The results obtained from a spectral analysis approach are compared with those of two random vibration based response spectrum methods and a deterministic method. The analyses suggest that the structural responses usually show important amplifications depending on the decreasing ground motion wave velocities.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.953-977
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• 2016

Modern performance-based design methods require ways to determine the factual behavior of structures subjected to earthquakes. Drift ratio demands are important measures of structural and/or nonstructural damage of the structures in performance-based design. In this study, global drift ratio and interstory drift ratio demands, obtained by nonlinear time history analysis of three generic RC frames using code-compatible ground motion record sets, are statistically evaluated. Several ground motion record sets compatible with elastic design spectra defined for the local soil classes in Turkish Earthquake Code are used for the analyses. Variation of the drift ratio demands obtained from ground motion records in the sets and difference between the mean of drift ratio demands calculated for ground motion sets are evaluated. The results of the study indicate that i) variation of maximum drift ratio demands in the sets were high; ii) different drift ratio demands are calculated using different ground motion record sets although they are compatible with the same design spectra; iii) the effect of variability due to random causes on the total variability of drift ratio demands is much larger than the effect of variability due to differences between the mean of ground motion record sets; iv) global and interstory drift ratio demands obtained for different ground motion record sets can be accepted as simply random samples of the same population at %95 confidence level. The results are valid for all the generic frames and local soil classes considered in this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2018

This study presents the reliability-based analysis of nonlinear structures using the analytical fragility curves excited by random earthquake loads. The stochastic method of ground motion simulation is combined with the random vibration theory to compute structural failure probability. The formulation of structural failure probability using random vibration theory, based on only the frequency information of the excitation, provides an important basis for structural analysis in places where there is a lack of sufficient recorded ground motions. The importance of frequency content of ground motions on probability of structural failure is studied for different levels of the nonlinear behavior of structures. The set of simulated ground motion for this study is based on the results of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. It is demonstrated that the scenario events identified by the seismic risk differ from those obtained by the disaggregation of seismic hazard. The validity of the presented procedure is evaluated by Monte-Carlo simulation.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.15-39
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• 2013

The sensitivities of a structural response due to variation of its design parameters are prerequisite in the majority of the algorithms used for fundamental problems in engineering as system uncertainties, identification and probabilistic assessments etc. The paper presents the concept of probabilistic sensitivity of suspension bridges with respect to near-fault ground motion. In near field earthquake ground motions, large amplitude spectral accelerations can occur at long periods where many suspension bridges have significant structural response modes. Two different types of suspension bridges, which are Bosporus and Humber bridges, are selected to investigate the near-fault ground motion effects on suspension bridges random response sensitivity analysis. The modulus of elasticity is selected as random design variable. Strong ground motion records of Kocaeli, Northridge and Erzincan earthquakes are selected for the analyses. The stochastic sensitivity displacements and internal forces are determined by using the stochastic sensitivity finite element method and Monte Carlo simulation method. The stochastic sensitivity displacements and responses obtained from the two different suspension bridges subjected to these near-fault strong-ground motions are compared with each other. It is seen from the results that near-fault ground motions have different impacts stochastic sensitivity responses of suspension bridges. The stochastic sensitivity information provides a deeper insight into the structural design and it can be used as a basis for decision-making.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.835-845
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• 2012

This paper focuses on the stochastic response analysis of industrial masonry chimneys to surface blast-induced random ground motions by using a three dimensional finite element model. Underground blasts induce ground shocks on nearby structures. Depending on the distance between the explosion centre and the structure, masonry structures will be subjected to ground motions due to the surface explosions. Blast-induced random ground motions can be defined in terms of the power spectral density function and applied to each support point of the 3D finite element model of the industrial masonry system. In this paper, mainly a parametric study is conducted to estimate the effect of the blast-induced ground motions on the stochastic response of a chimney type masonry structure. With this purpose, different values of charge weight and distance from the charge centre are considered for the analyses of the chimney. The results of the study underline the remarkable effect of the surface blast-induced ground motions on the stochastic behaviour of industrial masonry type chimneys.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.141-152
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• 2000

Based on the discussion about some empirical coherency models resulted from earthquake-induced ground motion recordings at the SMART-1 array in Taiwan, and a heuristic model of the coherency function from elementary notions of stationary random process theory and a few simplifying assumptions regarding the propagation of seismic waves, a practical coherency model for spatially varying ground motions, which can be applied in aseismic analysis and design, is proposed, and the regressive coefficients are obtained using least-square fitting technique from the above recordings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.563-573
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• 2019

When generating spectrum-compatible artificial ground motion in engineering practices, the effect of the variation in fitting parameters on the distribution of the peak ground displacement (PGD) has not yet drawn enough attention. In this study, a method for simulating ground motion matching for multiple targets is developed. In this method, a frequency-dependent amplitude envelope function with statistical parameters is introduced to simulate the nonstationarity of the frequency in earthquake ground motion. Then, several groups of time-history acceleration with different temporal and spectral nonstationarities were generated to analyze the effect of nonstationary parameter variations on the distribution of PGD. The following conclusions are drawn from the results: (1) In the simulation of spectrum-compatible artificial ground motion, if the acceleration time-history is generated with random initial phases, the corresponding PGD distribution is quite discrete and an uncertain number of PGD values lower than the limit value are observed. Nevertheless, the mean values of PGD always meet the requirement in every group. (2) If the nonstationary frequencies of the ground motion are taken into account when fitting the target spectrum, the corresponding PGD values will increase. A correlation analysis shows that the change in the mean and the dispersion values, from before the frequencies are controlled to after, correlates with the modal parameters of the predominant frequencies. (3) Extending the maximum period of the target spectrum will increase the corresponding PGD value and, simultaneously, decrease the PGD dispersion. Finally, in order to control the PGD effectively, the ground motion simulation method suggested in this study was revised to target a specified PGD. This novel method can generate ground motion that satisfies not only the required precision of the target spectrum, peak ground acceleration (PGA), and nonstationarity characteristics of the ground motion but also meets the required limit of the PGD, improving engineering practices.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.445-459
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• 2016

Quantitative estimation of seismic response of various structural systems at the collapse limit state is one of the most significant objectives in Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE). Assessing the effects of uncertainties, due to variability in ground motion characteristics and random nature of earthquakes, on nonlinear structural response is a pivotal issue regarding collapse safety prediction. Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) and fragility curves are utilized to estimate demand parameters and seismic performance levels of structures. Since producing these curves based on a large number of nonlinear dynamic analyses would be time-consuming, selection of appropriate earthquake ground motion records resulting in reliable responses with sufficient accuracy seems to be quite essential. The aim of this research study is to propose a methodology to assess the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete frames at collapse limit state via accurate estimation of seismic fragility curves for different Engineering Demand Parameters (EDPs) by using a limited number of ground motion records. Research results demonstrate that accurate estimating of structural collapse capacity is feasible through applying the proposed method offering an appropriate suite of limited ground motion records.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.395-416
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• 2013

The magneto-rheological (MR) damper contributes to the new technology of structural vibration control. Its developments and applications have been paid significant attentions in earthquake engineering in recent years. Due to the shortages, however, inherent in deterministic control schemes where only several observed seismic accelerations are used as the trivial input and in classical stochastic optimal control theory with assumption of white noise process, the derived control policy cannot effectively accommodate the performance of randomly base-excited engineering structures. In this paper, the experimental and analytical studies on stochastic seismic response control of structures with specifically designed MR dampers are carried out. The random ground motion, as the base excitation posing upon the shaking table and the design load used for structural control system, is represented by the physically based stochastic ground motion model. Stochastic response analysis and reliability assessment of the tested structure are performed using the probability density evolution method and the theory of extreme value distribution. It is shown that the seismic response of the controlled structure with MR dampers gain a significant reduction compared with that of the uncontrolled structure, and the structural reliability is obviously strengthened as well.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 1999

The objective of the study is to develop attenuation equations of the ground motions in the southern part of the Korean peninsula. The earthquake source characteristics and the medium properties were estimated from available instrumental earthquake records and used as input parameters. The peak ground accelerations(PGA) and pseudo-velocity response spectra(PSV) were simulated by the random vibration theory. The attenuation equations for the PGA and PSV were constructed in terms of local magnitudes and hypocentral distances.