• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1077-1099
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• 2016

One of the main shortcomings in the current passive base isolation system is lack of adaptability. The recent research and development of a novel adaptive seismic isolator based on magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) material has created an opportunity to add adaptability to base isolation systems for civil structures. The new MRE based base isolator is able to significantly alter its shear modulus or lateral stiffness with the applied magnetic field or electric current, which makes it a competitive candidate to develop an adaptive base isolation system. This paper aims at exploring suitable control algorithms for such adaptive base isolation system by developing a close-loop semi-active control system for a building structure equipped with MRE base isolators. The MRE base isolator is simulated by a numerical model derived from experimental characterization based on the Bouc-Wen Model, which is able to describe the force-displacement response of the device accurately. The parameters of Bouc-Wen Model such as the stiffness and the damping coefficients are described as functions of the applied current. The state-space model is built by analyzing the dynamic property of the structure embedded with MRE base isolators. A Lyapunov-based controller is designed to adaptively vary the current applied to MRE base isolator to suppress the quake-induced vibrations. The proposed control method is applied to a widely used benchmark base-isolated structure by numerical simulation. The performance of the adaptive base isolation system was evaluated through comparison with optimal passive base isolation system and a passive base isolation system with optimized base shear. It is concluded that the adaptive base isolation system with proposed Lyapunov-based semi-active control surpasses the performance of other two passive systems in protecting the civil structures under seismic events.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.261-272
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• 2020

Recent severe earthquakes in and around the vital public places worldwide indicate the severe vulnerability of ground excitation to be assailed. Reducing the effect of seismic lateral load in structural design is an important conception. Essentially, seismic isolation is required to shield the superstructure in such a way that the building superstructure would not move when the ground is shaking. This study explores the effectiveness, design, and practical feasibility of base isolation systems to reduce seismic demands on buildings of varying elevations. Thus, static and dynamic analyses were conducted based on site-specific bi-directional earthquakes for base-isolated as well as fixed-based buildings. Remarkably, it was discovered that isolators used in low-rise to high-rise structures tend to significantly decrease the structural responses of seismic prone buildings. The higher allowable horizontal displacement induces structural flexibility and ensure good structural health of the building stories. Reinforcement from vertical and horizontal members can be reduced in significant amounts for BI buildings. Thus, although incorporating base isolators increases the initial outlay, it considerably diminishes the total structural cost.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.325-343
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• 2018

This study aims to propose a performance-based design method of a novel passive base isolation system, BIO isolation system, which is inspired by an energy dissipation mechanism called 'sacrificial bonds and hidden length'. Fragility functions utilized in this study are derived, indicating the probability that a component, element, or system will be damaged as a function of a single predictive demand parameter. Based on PEER framework methodology for Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE), a systematic design procedure using performance and fragility objectives is presented. Base displacement, superstructure absolute acceleration and story drift ratio are selected as engineering demand parameters. The new design method is then performed on a general two degree-of-freedom (2DOF) structure model and the optimal design under different seismic intensities is obtained through numerical analysis. Seismic performances of the biologically inspired (BIO) isolation system are compared with that of the linear isolation system. To further demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of this method, the BIO isolation system of a 4-storey reinforced concrete building is designed and investigated. The newly designed BIO isolators effectively decrease the superstructure responses and base displacement under selected earthquake excitations, showing good seismic performance.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.453-460
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• 2005

In this study, the seismic fragility analysis of a base isolated condensate storage tank installed in the nuclear power plant. The condensate storage tank is safety related structure in a nuclear power plant. The failure of this tank affect significantly to the core damage frequency of the nuclear power plants. The seismic analysis of the liquid storage tank was performed by the simple calculation method and the dynamic time storage analysis method. The convective and impulsive fluid mass is modeled as added masses proposed by several researchers. To evaluate the effectiveness of the isolation system, the comparison of HCLPF and core damage frequencies in non-isolated and isolated cases are carried out. It can be found from the results that the seismic isolation system increases the seismic capacity of a condensate storage tank and decreases the core damage frequency significantly.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.291-299
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• 2014

There has been an increasing demand for introducing a base isolation system to secure the seismic safety of a nuclear power plant. However, the design criteria and the safety assessment methodology of a base isolated nuclear facility are still being developed. A performance based design concept for the base isolation system needs to be added to the general seismic design procedures. For the base isolation system, the displacement responses of isolators excited by the extended design basis earthquake are important as well as the design displacement. The possible displacement response by the extended design basis earthquake should be limited less than the failure displacement of the isolator. The failure of isolators were investigated by an experimental test to define the ultimate strain level of rubber bearings. The uncertainty analysis, considering the variations of the mechanical properties of isolators and input ground motions, was performed to estimate the probabilistic distribution of the isolator displacement. The relationship of the displacement response by each ground motion level was compared in view of a period elongation and a reduction of damping. Finally, several examples of isolator parameters are calculated and the considerations for an acceptable isolation design is discussed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.374-385
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• 2022

In order to investigate the application of 3D base-seismic isolation system in nuclear power plants (NPPs), comprehensive analysis of constitution and design theory for 3-dimensional combined isolation bearing (3D-CIB) was presented and derived. Four different vertical stiffness of 3D-CIB was designed to isolate the nuclear island (NI) building. This paper aimed at investigating the isolation effectiveness of 3D-CIB through modal analysis and dynamic time-history analysis. Numerical results in terms of dynamic response of 3D-CIB, relative displacement response, acceleration and floor response spectra (FRS) of the superstructure were compared to validate the reliability of 3D-CIB in mitigating seismic response. The results showed that 3D-CIB can significantly attenuate the horizontal acceleration response, and a fair amount of the vertical acceleration response reduction of the upper structure was still observed. 3D-CIB plays a significant role in reducing the horizontal and vertical FRS, the vertical FRS basically do not vary with the floor height. The smaller the vertical stiffness of 3D-CIB is, the better the vertical isolation effectiveness is, whereas, it will increase the displacement and the rocking effect of superstructure. Although the advantage of 3D-CIB is that the vertical stiffness can be flexibly adjusted, it should be designed by properly accounting for the balance between the isolation effectiveness and displacement control including rocking effect. The results of this study can provide the technical basis and guidance for the application of 3D-CIB to engineering structure.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.107-113
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• 1995

Spent fuel storage pool should maintain its structural integrity and the safety of stored spent fuels against design earthquake load. In this study, the seismic response analysis of the pool with LRB isolation system is performed for two different earthquakes. To investigate the seismic response of the base isolated pool, the analysis results are compared with the responses of conventional type. In conclusion, the base-isolation system is effective to reduce the seismic forces transmitted to the superstructure and the responses, and to secure the safety of the storage pool and stored spent fuel.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.529-536
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• 2003

As large structures such as high-rise buildings and cable-stayed bridges become lighter and more flexible, the necessity of structural control for reducing excessive displacement and acceleration due to seismic excitation is increased. As a method to minimize seismic damages, various base isolation systems are adopted or considered for adoption. In this study, the seismic performance of MR dampers are studied and compared with that of the NZ system as a base isolation system. As the control algorithm of the MR damper, the clipped-optimal control(applied LQR method) is employed. A five-story building is modeled and the seismic performance of the two systems subjected to three different earthquakes is compared. The results show that the MR damper system can provide superior protection than the NZ system for a wide range of ground motions.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.107-116
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• 1991

Base isolation is the alternative tool to protect structures against the earthquake. Basic ideas are the flexibflity to reduce the response of the structure, energy dissipation to reduce the excessive deflection by flexibility, and the rigidity under the service load. Base isolation is specially good for bridges because it can be installed easily and be used for both new construction and rehabilitation. This paper describes the basic ideas of base isolation, various base isolation devices and design guidelines by AASHTO. It also introduces the applications in United States and New Zealand.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2022

In earthquake situations, broadcasting and communication services are directly linked to rapid on-site rescue and effective restoration works. Recently, a variety of base isolation devices are widely introduced on building floors to avoid critical seismic damages of telecommunication facilities. However, in buildings with long fundamental periods, those devices may have undesirable amplification of seismic responses due to resonance effect between the building floors and base isolation devices. This study performs the seismic safety evaluation of two types of base isolation devices deployed for telecommunication facilities in mid- and high-rise buildings through numerical and experimental approaches. It is found that mid- and high-rise buildings can have low-frequency dynamic responses at the top floor when being subjected to design basis earthquake loading. Furthermore, bi-directional shake table testing demonstrated that the selected base isolation devices can exhibit unstable dynamic behaviors under such low-frequency excitations of the floor.