• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.30 no.1C
• /
• pp.65-76
• /
• 2010

Recent earthquake events revealed that severe seismic damages were concentrated mostly at sites composed of soil sediments rather than firm rock. This indicates that the site effects inducing the amplification of earthquake ground motion are associated mainly with the spatial distribution and dynamic properties of the soils overlying bedrock. In this study, an integrated GIS-based information system for geotechnical data was constructed to establish a regional counterplan against ground motions at a representative metropolitan area, Seoul, in Korea. To implement the GIS-based geotechnical information system for the Seoul area, existing geotechnical investigation data were collected in and around the study area and additionally a walkover site survey was carried out to acquire surface geo-knowledge data. For practical application of the geotechnical information system used to estimate the site effects at the area of interest, seismic zoning maps of geotechnical earthquake engineering parameters, such as the depth to bedrock and the site period, were created and presented as regional synthetic strategy for earthquake-induced hazards prediction. In addition, seismic zonation of site classification was also performed to determine the site amplification coefficients for seismic design at any site and administrative sub-unit in the Seoul area. Based on the case study on seismic zonations for Seoul, it was verified that the GIS-based geotechnical information system was very useful for the regional prediction of seismic hazards and also the decision support for seismic hazard mitigation particularly at the metropolitan area.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
• /
• v.26 no.B
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2006

A sensitivity analysis about effects of influencing factors on the stability of Soil cut slope was performed. Slope stability analyses were carried out under dry, rainy and seismic conditions. Dominant factors controlling the slope stability were chosen such as cohesion and internal friction angle, unit weight of soil, water table and seismic horizontal coefficient used for the slope stability during earthquake. Parametric stability analysis with those factors was performed for sensitivity analysis. As results of analyzing the sensitivity of factors under dry and rainy conditions, effects of cohesion, internal friction angle and unit weight of soil on the stability of slope are more critical in the dry condition than in the rainy condition. Cohesion and internal friction angle are more dominant factors influencing the slope stability irrespective of dry or rainy conditions than unit weight of soil and the horizontal seismic coefficient. The unit weight and the horizontal seismic coefficient affects crucially the stability according to conditions of slope formation and dry or rainy seasons. For the effect of horizontal seismic coefficient on stability of slope, safety factor of slope is not affected significantly by dry or rainy conditions. However, increase of the horizontal seismic coefficient under the rainy condition floes reduce the safety factor significantly rather than the dry condition. Therefore, it is needed that the location of the water table is assigned appropriately to satisfy the required safety factor of stability in the case of checking slope stability for the rainy and seismic conditions.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.195-205
• /
• 2015

Various non-seismic tie details are frequently used for one- and two-story small buildings because the seismic demand on their deformation capacities is not relatively significant. To evaluate the effects of the non-seismic tie details on the seismic performance of reinforced concrete columns, six square columns with a cross section of $400{\times}400mm$ and six rectangular columns with a cross section of $250{\times}640mm$ were tested. The anchorage details at both ends and spacing of tie hoops, along with the cross-sectional shape and the magnitude of axial load, were considered as the primary test parameters. Test results showed that square columns had higher stiffness and lower lateral deformation rather than rectangular columns. Both lap spliced tie and U-shaped tie provided comparable or improved seismic performance to $90^{\circ}$ hook tie in terms of maximum strength, ductility, and energy dissipation. The predicted curves with modeling parameters in ASCE41-13 were conservative for test results of lap spliced tie and U-shaped tie specimens since plastic behavior after flexural yielding could not be considered. For economical design, ASCE41-13 should be revised with various test results of tie details.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.613-625
• /
• 2021

Non-seismically designed eccentric reinforced concrete beam-column joints were extensively used in existing reinforced concrete frame buildings, which were found to be vulnerable to seismic action in many incidences. To provide a fundamental understanding of the seismic performance and failure mechanism of the joints, three 2/3-scale exterior beam-column joints with non-seismically designed details were cast and tested under reversed cyclic loads simulating earthquake excitation. In this investigation, particular emphasis was given on the effects of the eccentricity between the centerlines of the beam and the column. It is shown that the eccentricity had significant effects on the damage characteristics, shear strength, and displacement ductility of the specimens. In addition, shear deformation and the strain of joint hoops were found to concentrate on the eccentric face of the joint. The results demonstrated that the specimen with an eccentricity of 1/4 column width failed in a brittle manner with premature joint shear failure, while the other specimens with less or no eccentricity failed in a ductile manner with joint shear failure after beam flexural yielding. Test results are compared with those predicted by three seismic design codes and two non-seismic design codes. In general, the codes do not accurately predict the shear strength of the eccentric joints with non-seismic details.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.85 no.3
• /
• pp.381-391
• /
• 2023

The seismic performance of the tall building equipped with a tuned mass damper (TMD) considering soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects is well studied in the literature. However, these studies are performed on the nominal model of the seismic-excited structural system with SSI. Hence, the outcomes of the studies may not valid for the actual structural system. To address the study gap, the reliability theory as a useful and powerful method is utilized in the paper. The present study aims to carry out reliability analyses on tall buildings equipped with TMD under near-field pulse-like (NFPL) ground motions considering SSI effects using a subset simulation (SS) method. In the presence of uncertainties of the structural model, TMD device, foundation, soil, and near-field pulse-like ground motions, the numerical studies are performed on a benchmark 40-story building and the failure probabilities of the structures with and without TMD are evaluated. Three types of soils (dense, medium, and soft soils), different earthquake magnitudes (M_w = 7,0. 7,25. 7,5 ), different nearest fault distances (r = 5. 10 and 15 km), and three seismic performance levels of immediate occupancy (IO), life safety (LS), and collapse prevention (CP) are considered in this study. The results show that tall buildings built near faults and on soft soils are more affected by uncertainties of the structural and ground motion models. Hence, ignoring these uncertainties may result in an inaccurate estimation of the maximum seismic responses. Also, it is found the TMD is not able to reduce the failure probabilities of the structure in the IO seismic performance level, especially for high earthquake magnitudes and structures built near the fault. However, TMD is significantly effective in the reduction of failure probability for the LS and CP performance levels. For weak earthquakes and long fault distances, the failure probabilities of both structures with and without TMD are near zero, and the efficiency of the TMD in the reduction of failure probabilities is reduced by increasing earthquake magnitudes and the reduction of fault distance. As soil softness increases, the failure probability of structures both with and without TMD often increases, especially for severe near-fault earthquake motion.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.38-50
• /
• 2008

The site-specific seismic responses and corresponding seismic hazards are influenced mainly by the subsurface geologic and geotechnical dynamic characteristics. To estimate reliably the seismic responses in this study, a geotechnical information system (GTIS) within GIS framework was developed by introducing new concepts, which consist of the extended area containing the study area and the additional site visit for acquiring surface geo-knowledge data. The GIS-based GTIS was built for Gyeongju area, which has records of abundant historical seismic hazards reflecting the high potential of future earthquakes. At the study area, Gyeongju, intensive site investigations and pre-existing geotechnical data collections were performed and the site visits were additionally carried out for assessing geotechnical characteristics and shear wave velocity ($V_S$) representing dynamic property. Within the GTIS for Gyeongju area, the spatially distributed geotechnical layers and $V_S$ in the entire study area were reliably predicted from the site investigation data using the geostatistical kriging method. Based on the spatial geotechnical layers and $V_S$ predicted within the GTIS, a seismic zoning map on site period ($T_G$) from which the site-specific seismic responses according to the site effects can be estimated was created across the study area of Gyeongju. The spatial $T_G$ map at Gyeongju indicated seismic vulnerability of two- to five-storied buildings. In this study, the seismic zonation based on $T_G$ within the GIS-based GTIS was presented as regional efficient strategy for seismic hazard prediction and mitigation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.5-16
• /
• 2018

In this study, seismic performance of geotechnical seismic isolation system capable of primary seismic isolation in the ground was evaluated. 1-G shaking table test was used to assess the performance of Teflon or steel slag as geotechnical seismic isolation systems installed beneath superstructure foundation. Response acceleration and response spectra were analyzed considering different input motions. The results were compared with those of fixed foundation structure without seismic isolation system. The steel slag-type seismic isolation system showed significant reduction in acceleration. The teflon-type seismic isolation system did not show significant effects on acceleration reduction in low-to-moderate seismicity condition, but it did show better effects in case of strong seismic condition. As input motion was transferred to the upper mass, the response spectrum of the fixed foundation structure was amplified in the short period range. In contrast, the response spectrum of the structure with seismic isolation using teflon or steel slag amplified in the long period range. It is found that the change of periodicity and the friction characteristics between isolation materials and foundations affected acceleration reduction.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.73-84
• /
• 2018

Low cyclic loading tests are conducted on the steel reinforced recycled concrete (SRRC) column-steel (S) beam composite frame joints. This research aims to evaluate the earthquake damage performance of composite frame joints by performing cyclic loading tests on eight specimens. The experimental failure process and failure modes, load-displacement hysteresis curves, characteristic loads and displacements, and ductility of the composite frame joints are presented and analyzed, which shows that the composite frame joints demonstrate good seismic performance. On the basis of this finding, seismic damage performance is examined by using the maximum displacement, energy absorbed in the hysteresis loops and Park-Ang model. However, the result of this analysis is inconsistent with the test failure process. Therefore, this paper proposes a modified Park-Ang seismic damage model that is based on maximum deformation and cumulative energy dissipation, and corrected by combination coefficient ${\alpha}$. Meanwhile, the effects of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement percentage and axial compression ratio on the seismic damage performance are analyzed comprehensively. Moreover, lateral displacement angle is used as the quantification index of the seismic performance level of joints. Considering the experimental study, the seismic performance level of composite frame joints is divided into five classes of normal use, temporary use, repair after use, life safety and collapse prevention. On this basis, the corresponding relationships among seismic damage degrees, seismic performance level and quantitative index are also established in this paper. The conclusions can provide a reference for the seismic performance design of composite frame joints.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.349-365
• /
• 2020

Since the peak seismic response of a base-isolated building strongly depends on the characteristics of the imposed seismic ground motion, the behavior of a base-isolated building under different seismic ground motions is studied, in order to better assess their effects on its peak seismic response. Specifically, the behavior of a typical steel building is examined as base-isolated with elastomeric bearings, while the effect of near-fault ground motions is studied by imposing 7 pairs of near- and 7 pairs of far-fault seismic records, from the same 7 earthquake events, to the building, under 3 different loading combinations, through three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear dynamic analyses, conducted with SAP2000. The results indicate that near-fault seismic components are more likely to increase the building's peak seismic response than the corresponding far-fault components. Furthermore, the direction of the imposed earthquake excitations is also varied by rotating the imposed pairs of seismic records from 0◦ to 360◦, with respect to the major construction axes. It is observed that the peak seismic responses along the critical incident angles, which in general differ from the major horizontal construction axes of the building, are significantly higher. Moreover, the influence of 5% and 10% accidental mass eccentricities is also studied, revealing that when considering accidental mass eccentricities the peak relative displacements of the base isolated building at the isolation level are substantially increased, while the peak floor accelerations and interstory drifts of its superstructure are only slightly affected.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.69-88
• /
• 2008

A number of construction practices, implemented during the design process of a reinforced concrete (RC) structural system, may have significant consequences on the behaviour of the structural system in the case of earthquake loading. Although a number of provisions are imposed by the contemporary Greek national design codes for the seismic design of RC structures, in order to reduce the consequences, the influence of the construction practices on the seismic behaviour of the structural system remains significant. The objective of this work is to perform a comparative study in order to examine the influence of three, often encountered, construction practices namely weak ground storey, short and floating columns and two combinations on the seismic performance of the structural system with respect to the structural capacity and the maximum interstorey drifts in three earthquake hazard levels.