• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.169-178
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• 2020

In a previous paper, ambient vibration tests were conducted on a cable stayed bridge with resilient-friction base isolation systems (R-FBI) to extract the dynamic characteristics of the bridge and compare the results with a seismic analysis model. In this paper, a nonlinear seismic analysis model was established for analysis of the bridge to compare the difference in seismic responses between nonlinear time history analysis and multi-mode spectral analysis methods in the seismic design phase of cable supported bridges. Through these studies, it was confirmed that the seismic design procedures of the "Korean Highway Bridge Design Code (Limit State Design) for Cable Supported Bridges" is not suitable for cable supported bridges installed with R-FBI. Therefore, to reflect the actual dynamic characteristics of the R-FBI installed on cable-supported bridges, an improved seismic design procedure is proposed that applies the seismic analysis method differently depending on the seismic isolation effect of the R-FBI for each seismic performance level.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.600-606
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• 2019

Studies on the application of the lead rubber bearing (LRB) isolation system to nuclear power plants are being carried out as one of the measures to improve seismic performance. Nuclear power plants with isolation systems require seismic probabilistic safety assessments, for which the seismic fragility of the structures, systems, and components needs be calculated, including for beyond design basis earthquakes. To this end, seismic response analyses are required, where it can be seen that the behaviors of the isolation system components govern the overall seismic response of an isolated plant. The numerical model of the LRB used in these seismic response analyses plays an important role, but in most cases, the extreme performance of the LRB has not been well studied. The current work therefore develops an extreme nonlinear numerical model that can express the seismic response of the LRB for beyond design basis earthquakes. A full-scale LRB was fabricated and dynamically tested with various input conditions, and test results confirmed that the developed numerical model better represents the behavior of the LRB over previous models. Subsequent seismic response analyses of isolated nuclear power plants using the model developed here are expected to provide more accurate results for seismic probabilistic safety assessments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.569-580
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• 2014

Seismic isolation is a viable strategy for protecting safety-related nuclear structures from the effects of moderate to severe earthquake shaking. Although seismic isolation has been deployed in nuclear structures in France and South Africa, it has not seen widespread use because of limited new build nuclear construction in the past 30 years and a lack of guidelines, codes and standards for the analysis, design and construction of isolation systems specific to nuclear structures. The funding by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a research project to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and MCEER/University at Buffalo facilitated the writing of a soon-to-be-published NUREG on seismic isolation. Funding of MCEER by the National Science Foundation led to research products that provide the technical basis for a new section in ASCE Standard 4 on the seismic isolation of safety-related nuclear facilities. The performance expectations identified in the NUREG and ASCE 4 for seismic isolation systems, and superstructures and substructures are described in the paper. Robust numerical models capable of capturing isolator behaviors under extreme loadings, which have been verified and validated following ASME protocols, and implemented in the open source code OpenSees, are introduced.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.33-42
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• 2007

This paper describes the state-of-the art research activities on seismic isolation systems for improving the seismic capacities of the bridges in Korea. Though Korea is located in a region of low-to-moderate seismicity, the construction of seismic isolation systems has increased rapidly. The application of seismic isolation system has become popular worldwide because of its stable behavior and economical construction especially for bridge structures. Since optimal reliability level of isolated bridges can be determined as the one that provides the highest net life-cycle benefit to society, or the minimum Life-Cycle Cost (LCC), an optimal design procedure based on minimum LCC concept is more expedient for the design of seismically isolated bridges in areas of low-to-moderate seismicty. To verify the adequacy of the new design concept based on the LCC minimization, experimental studies on seismically isolated bridge are introduced as well, which include pseudo-dynamic test of scaled pier and dynamic field test of full-scale. With the application of seismic isolation systems, many kinds of dampers to improve the seismic capacity of structure are also applied not only to new bridges but also to existing bridges.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.581-594
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• 2014

A feasibility study on the seismic design of nuclear reactor buildings with application of a seismic isolation system is introduced. After the Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake in Japan of 1995, seismic isolation technologies have been widely employed for commercial buildings. Having become a mature technology, seismic isolation systems can be applied to NPP facilities in areas of high seismicity. Two reactor buildings are discussed, representing the PWR and BWR buildings in Japan, and the application of seismic isolation systems is discussed. The isolation system employing rubber bearings with a lead plug positioned (LRB) is examined. Through a series of seismic response analyses using the so-named standard design earthquake motions covering the design basis earthquake motions obtained for NPP sites in Japan, the responses of the seismic isolated reactor buildings are evaluated. It is revealed that for the building structures examined herein: (1) the responses of both isolated buildings and isolating LRBs fulfill the specified design criteria; (2) the responses obtained for the isolating LRBs first reach the ultimate condition when intensity of motion is 2.0 to 2.5 times as large as that of the design-basis; and (3) the responses of isolated reactor building fall below the range of the prescribed criteria.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.49-57
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• 2008

The seismic isolation systems could be used to reduce the seismic response of a structure. The natural period of a structure with seismic isolation system got be long to avoid the prominent seismic period. The purpose of this study is to analyzed the seismic behavior of the truss arch that is supported to column with LRB. Truss arch structures subjected to horizontal seismic have large horizontal and vertical response unlike seismic behavior of normal rahmen structures. When seismic load is applied to the truss arch with isolation systems, the horizontal acceleration response of the truss arch is reduced and the vertical seismic response is remarkably reduced. Also, the seismic behaviors of the truss arch with strengthen column as like lattice column are very similar to that of the truss arch supported to directly foundation. The Seismic Isolation system can be applied to reduce efficiently the seismic response of the spacial structure with not strong column.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.417-423
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• 2006

The seismic characteristics with 3-Dimensional isolation systems have been studied using a shaking table system. In this study, we made nuclear power plant main control room floor systems and several seismic shaking table tests with and without isolation systems were conducted to evaluate floor isolation effectiveness. Isolation systems have showed large reduction effectiveness in acceleration and response spectra with x and z direction respectively, but horizontal isolation is more effective than vertical one It is required to make isolation systems of which design frequency is below 1Hz when applied to main control room of NPP, but considering much difficulties in making such isolation systems, it is recommended that much consideration should be taken into account when applied to main control room of NPP.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.73-84
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• 2008

The various systems as the seismic resistance systems are used to reduce the seismic response of structure. And the seismic isolation system among them is the system that reduces the seismic vibration to be transmitted from foundation to upper structure. The purpose of isolation system is to lengthen the period of structure and make its period shift from the dominant period of earthquake. In this study, the seismic behavior of arch structure with lead rubber bearing(LRB) and friction pendulum system(FPS) is analyzed. The arch structure is the simplest structure and has the basic dynamic characteristics among large spatial structures. Also, Large spatial structures have large vertical response by horizontal seismic vibration, unlike seismic behavior of normal rahmen structures. When horizontal seismic load is applied to the large spatial structure with isolation systems, the horizontal acceleration response of the large spatial structure is reduced and the vertical seismic response is remarkably reduced.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.5
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• pp.627-644
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• 2022

In past major earthquakes (1994 Northridge, 1995 Kobe, Chi-Chi 1999, Kocaeli 1999), significant damages occurred in the liquid storage tanks. The basic failure patterns were observed to be the buckling of the tank wall and uplift of the anchorage system. The damages in the industrial facilities and nuclear power plants have caused the spread of toxic substances to the environment and significant fires. Seismic isolation can be used in liquid storage tanks to decouple the structure and decrease the structural demand in the superstructure in case of ground shaking. Previous studies on the use of seismic isolation systems on liquid storage tanks show that an isolation system reduces the impulsive response but might slightly increase the convective one. There is still a lack of understanding of the seismic response of seismically isolated liquid storage tanks considering the fluid-structure interaction. In this study, one broad tank, one medium tank, and one slender tank are selected and designed. Two- and three-dimensional elastomeric bearings are used as seismic isolation systems. The seismic performance of the tanks is then investigated through nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses. The effectiveness of each seismic isolation system on tanks' performance was investigated. Isolator tension forces, modal analysis results, hydrodynamic stresses, strains, sloshing heights and base shear forces of the tanks are compared. The results show that the total base shear is lower in 3D-isolators compared to 2D-isolators. Even though the tank wall stresses, and strains are slightly higher in 3D-isolators, they are more efficient to prevent the tension problem.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.605-618
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• 2014

The effects of variability of the mechanical properties of lead rubber bearings on the response of a seismic isolation system are investigated. Material variability in manufacturing, aging, and operation temperature is assumed, and two variation models of an isolation system are considered. To evaluate the effect of ground motion characteristics on the response, 27 earthquake record sets with different peak A/V ratios were selected, and three components of ground motions were used for a seismic response analysis. The response in an isolation system and a superstructure increases significantly for ground motions with low A/V ratios. The variation in the mechanical properties of isolators results in a significant influence on the shear strains of the isolators and the acceleration response of the superstructure. The variation provisions in the ASCE-4 are reasonable, but more strict variation limits should be given to isolation systems subjected to ground motions having low A/V ratios. For application of seismic isolation systems to safety-related nuclear structures, the variation in the material and mechanical properties of the isolation system should be properly controlled during the manufacturing and aging processes. In addition, special consideration should be given to minimize the accidental torsion caused by the dissimilarity in the stiffness variations of the isolators.