• Computers and Concrete
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1083-1096
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• 2016

Beam-column joints are recognized as the weak points of reinforcement concrete frames. The ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) frames during severe earthquakes can be measured through the dissipation of large energy in beam-column joint. Retrofitting and rehabilitating structures through proper methods, such as carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), are required to prevent casualties that result from the collapse of earthquake-damaged structures. The main challenge of this issue is identifying the effect of CFRP on the occurrence of failure in the joint of a cross section with normal ductility. The present study evaluates the retrofitting method for a normal ductile beam-column joint using CFRP under monotonic and cyclic loads. Thus, the finite element model of a cross section with normal ductility and made of RC is developed, and CFRP is used to retrofit the joints. This study considers three beam-column joints: one with partial CFRP wrapping, one with full CFRP wrapping, and one with normal ductility. The two cases with partial and full CFRP wrapping in the beam-column joints are used to determine the effect of retrofitting with CFRP wrapping sheets on the behavior of the beam-column joint confined by such sheets. All the models are subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading. The final capacity and hysteretic results of the dynamic analysis are investigated. A comparison of the dissipation energy graphs of the three connections shows significant enhancement in the models with partial and full CFRP wrapping. An analysis of the load-displacement curves indicates that the stiffness of the specimens is enhanced by CFRP sheets. However, the models with both partial and full CFRP wrapping exhibited no considerable improvement in terms of energy dissipation and stiffness.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.244-249
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• 2016

Anaerobic digester supernatant including high concentrations of nitrogen is recycled to water treatment line and make pollutant load increase in municipal wastewater treatment plant(MWTP). To treat nitrogen in anaerobic digester supernatant is suggested the method of MWTP retrofit. In this study, the lab scale reactor was operated about 200 days using supernatant of anaerobic digester. The results could draw operation condition that ammonium nitrogen removal efficiency more than 90% and nitrite conversion efficiency over 70%. Correlation between operation efficiency and operation factors was analyzed based on the operation results. Ammonium nitrogen remove efficiency and nitrite conversion efficiency were related to solid retention time (SRT), ammonium nitrogen load and ammonium nitrogen loading per unit mixed liquer suspended solid (MLSS). Results of this study can be used effective data on nitritation of supernatant of anaerobic digester, and be expected to increase availability of nitritation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.675-684
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• 2020

An innovative retrofit method using pre-stressed steel strips and externally-bonded steel plates was presented in this paper. With the aim of exploring the seismic performance of the retrofitted RC interior joints, four 1/2-scale retrofitted joint specimens together with one control specimen were designed and subjected to constant axial compression and cyclic loading, with the main test parameters being the volume of steel strips and the existence of externally-bonded steel plates. The damage mechanism, force-displacement hysteretic response, force-displacement envelop curve, energy dissipation and displacement ductility ratio were analyzed to investigate the cyclic behavior of the retrofitted joints. The test results indicated that all the test specimens suffered a typical shear failure at the joint core, and the application of externally-bonded steel plates and that of pre-stressed steel strips could effectively increase the lateral capacity and deformability of the deficient RC interior joints, respectively. The best cyclic behavior could be found in the deficient RC interior joint retrofitted using both externally-bonded steel plates and pre-stressed steel strips due to the increased lateral capacity, displacement ductility and energy dissipation. Finally, based on the test results and the softened strut and tie model, a theoretical model for determining the shear capacity of the retrofitted specimens was proposed and validated.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.138-147
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• 2018

With the recent series of damage caused by earthquakes in Korea, such as Gyeongju and Pohang, we know that Korea is no longer a safe zone for earthquakes and that we need to be prepared for them. In addition, bridges built prior to the introduction of seismic design concepts remain without adequate seismic reinforcement measures, and earthquake reinforcement should be performed efficiently considering economic and structural safety. Preliminary assessment of seismic performance of existing bridges is divided into four seismic groups, taking into account seismicity, vulnerability and Impact, considering the magnitude of the existing bridge's seismic, and prioritization for further evaluation of seismic performance. In this study, unlike the existing anti-seismic reinforcement priority method, scores are calculated based on the seismic design criteria applied to bridges, importance coefficient of the bridge including the zone coefficient and the Importance, vulnerability index of the bridge including the soil condition and the elapsed years, detail coefficient of the bridge including the superstructure form, the span length, the width, the height, the design load, and the daily traffic volume. The calculated score items will be weighted and grouped according to the results. Using this, a simpler and more efficient algorithm was proposed to determine the priority of seismic reinforcement on a bridge.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2011

This article proposes a hybrid approach involved in determining the size of stormwater control facilities as part of a very large scale urban retrofit project. The objective of the proposed hybrid approach is to restore the pre-development hydrologic cycle. Firstly, an appropriate IETD is determined to isolate single storm events from the continuous rainfall record. Then, using the NRCS-CN method, direct runoff and infiltration volume are computed for every storm events. Long-term statistics of direct runoff and infiltration volume are analyzed in each case of pre-development, post development, post development with detention only, and post-development with the proposed hybrid approach. In order to preserve long-term statistics of direct runoff and infiltration volume in the case of pre-development, the size of detention and infiltration-based retention are estimated using the genetic algorithm. The result shows that the proposed hybrid approach is very useful for restoring statistics of natural direct runoff and infiltration volume.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.269-282
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• 2015

Civil structures should be designed with the lowest cost and longest lifetime possible and without service failure. The efficient and sustainable use of materials in building design and construction has always been at the forefront for civil engineers and environmentalists. Timber is one of the best contenders for these purposes particularly in terms of aesthetics; fire protection; strength-to-weight ratio; acoustic properties and seismic resistance. In recent years, timber has been used in commercial and taller buildings due to these significant advantages. It should be noted that, since the launch of the modern building standards and codes, a number of different structural systems have been developed to stabilise steel or concrete multistorey buildings, however, structural analysis of high-rise and multi-storey timber frame buildings subjected to lateral loads has not yet been fully understood. Additionally, timber degradation can occur as a result of biological decay of the elements and overloading that can result in structural damage. In such structures, the deficient members and joints require strengthening in order to satisfy new code requirements; determine acceptable level of safety; and avoid brittle failure following earthquake actions. This paper investigates performance assessment and damage assessment of older multi-storey timber buildings. One approach is to retrofit the beams in order to increase the ductility of the frame. Experimental studies indicate that Sprayed Fibre Reinforced Polymer (SFRP) repairing/retrofitting not only updates the integrity of the joint, but also increases its strength; stiffness; and ductility in such a way that the joint remains elastic. Non-linear finite element analysis ('pushover') is carried out to study the behaviour of the structure subjected to simulated gravity and lateral loads. A new global index is re-assessed for damage assessment of the plain and SFRP-retrofitted frames using capacity curves obtained from pushover analysis. This study shows that the proposed method is suitable for structural damage assessment of aged timber buildings. Also SFRP retrofitting can potentially improve the performance and load carrying capacity of the structure.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

In the rapidly aging society, the number of wheelchair users is increasing steadily. On the other hand, it is almost impossible for a disabled person using a wheelchair to use express buses. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an express bus that can secure the rights of wheelchair users. For these special types of express buses, it is required to develop a special entrance and lift system. The development of a wheelchair entrance system for the express buses requires design modification, retrofit, and reinforcement of the bus frame. This study evaluated the structural integrity of an entrance system for wheelchair users using a finite element method. Torsional stiffness and modal analysis were performed through structural analysis. Through sensitivity analysis, optimization was performed to reduce the weight of the frame. These results on the wheelchair entrance system are expected to be utilized in the vehicle modification and welfare industries.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.121-135
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• 2022

Many public buildings such as schools, hospitals, etc., where partial infill walls are present in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, have undergone undesirable damage/failure attributed to captive column effect during a moderate to severe earthquake shaking. Often, the situation gets worsened when these RC frames are non-ductile in nature, thus reducing the deformable capability of the frame. Also, in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, it is mandatory to use fly-ash bricks for construction so as to reduce the burden on the disposal of fly-ash produced at thermal power plants. In some scenario, when the non-ductile RC frame, partially infilled by fly-ash bricks, suffers major structural damage, the challenge remains on how to retrofit and restore it. Thus, in this study, two full-scale one-bay, one-story non-ductile RC frame models, namely, bare frame and RC partially infilled frame with fly-ash bricks in 50% of its opening area are considered. In the previous experiments, these models were subjected to slow-cyclic displacement-controlled loading to replicate damage due to a moderate earthquake. Now, in this study these damaged frames were retrofitted and an experimental investigation was performed on the retrofitted specimens to examine the effectiveness of the proposed retrofitting scheme. A hybrid retrofitting technique combining epoxy injection grouting with an innovative and easy-to-implement steel jacketing technique was proposed. This proposed retrofitting method has ensured proper confinement of damaged concrete. The retrofitted models were subjected to the same slow cyclic displacement-controlled loading which was used to damage the frames. The experimental study concluded that the hybrid retrofitting technique was quite effective in enhancing and regaining various seismic performance parameters such as, lateral strength and lateral stiffness of partially fly-ash brick infilled RC frame. Thus, the steel jacketing retrofitting scheme along with the epoxy injection grouting can be relied on for possible repair of the structural members which are damaged due to the captive column effect during the seismic shaking.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.473-491
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• 2022

The research investigates experimentally the effect of confinement on structural behavior at the ends of beam-column in reinforced concrete (RC) frames. In the experimental study, five specimens consisting of 1/3-scaled RC frames having single-bay, representing the traditional deficiencies of existing buildings constructed without receiving proper engineering service is investigated. The RC frame specimens were produced to represent most of the existing buildings in Turkey that have damage potential. To decrease the probable damage to the existing buildings exposed to earthquakes, the carbon Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) strengthening technique (fully wrapping) was used on the ends of the RC frame elements to increase the energy dissipation and deformation capacity. The specimens were tested under reversed cyclic lateral loading with constant axial loads. They were constructed satisfying the weak column-strong beam condition and consisting of low-strength concrete, such as compressive strength of 15 MPa. The test results were compared and evaluated considering stiffness, strength, energy dissipation capacity, structural damping, ductility, and damage propagation in detail. Comprehensive investigations of these experimental results reveal that the strengthening of a brittle frame with fully-TRM wrapping with non-anchored was effective in increasing the stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation capacities of RC bare frames. It was also observed that the frame-only-retrofitting with an infill wall is not enough to increase the ductility capacity. In this case, both the frame and infill wall must be retrofitted with TRM composite to increase the stiffness, lateral load carrying, ductility and energy dissipation capacities of RC frames. The presented strengthening method can be an alternative strengthening technique to enhance the seismic performance of existing or moderately damaged RC buildings.

• Architectural research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Structural ageing influences the structural performance in a negative way by reducing the seismic resilience of the structure which makes it a major concern around the world. Retrofitting is considered to be a pragmatic and feasible solution to address this issue. Numerous retrofitting techniques are devised by researchers over the years. The viability of using steel bracings as retrofitting component is evaluated on a G+30 storied building model designed according to ACI318-14 and ASCE 7-16. Four different types of steel bracing arrangements (V, Inverted V/ Chevron, Cross/ X, Diagonal) are assessed in the model developed in commercial nu-merical analysis software while considering both material and geometric nonlinearities. Reducing displacement and cost in the structures indicates that the design is safe and economical. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to find the best bracing system that causes minimum displacement, which indicates maximum lateral stiffness. To evaluate the seismic vulnerability of each system, incremental dynamic analysis was conducted to develop fragility curves, followed by the formation of collapse margin ratio (CMR) as stipulated in FEMA P695 and finally, a cost estimation was made for each system. The outcomes revealed that the effects of ge-ometric nonlinearity tend to evoke hazardous consequences if not considered in the structural design. Probabilistic seismic and economic probes indicated the superior performance of V braced frame system and its competency to be a germane technique for retrofitting.