• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2018

Seismic retrofitting of existing buildings and design of earth-quake resistant buildings are important issues associated with earthquake-prone zones. Use of metallic-yielding dampers as an energy dissipation system is an acceptable method for controlling damages in structures and improving their seismic performance. In this study, the optimal distribution of dampers for reducing the seismic response of steel frames with multi-degrees freedom is presented utilizing the uniform distribution of deformations. This has been done in a way that, the final configuration of dampers in the frames lead to minimum weight while satisfying the performance criteria. It is shown that such a structure has an optimum seismic performance, in which the maximum structure capacity is used. Then the genetic algorithm which is an evolutionary optimization method is used for optimal arrangement of the steel dampers in the structure. In continuation for specifying the optimal accurate response, the local search algorithm based on the gradient concept has been selected. In this research the introduced optimization methods are used for optimal retrofitting in the moment-resisting frame with inelastic behavior and initial weakness in design. Ultimately the optimal configuration of dampers over the height of building specified and by comparing the results of the uniform deformation method with those of the genetic algorithm, the validity of the uniform deformation method in terms of accuracy, Time Speed Optimization and the simplicity of the theory have been proven.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.663-674
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• 2015

Many seismically vulnerable regions in India and worldwide are located on deep soil deposits which extend to several hundred meters of depth. It has been well recognized that the earthquake shaking is altered by geological conditions at the location of building. As seismic waves propagates through uppermost layers of soil and rock, these layers serve as filter and they can increase the duration and amplitude of earthquake motion within narrow frequency bands. The amplification of these waves is largely controlled by mechanical properties of these layers, which are function of their stiffness and damping. Stiffness and damping are further influenced by soil type and thickness. In the current study, an attempt has been made to study the seismic site response of deep soils. Three hypothetical homogeneous soil models (e.g., soft soil, medium soil and hard soil) lying on bedrock are considered. Depth of half space is varied from 30 m to 2,000 m in this study. Controlled synthetic motions are used as input base motion. One dimensional equivalent linear ground response analyses are carried out using a computer package DEEPSOIL. Conventional approach of analysing up to 30 m depth has been found to be inadequate for deep soil sites. PGA values are observed to be higher for deeper soil profiles as compared to shallow soil profiles indicating that deeper soil profiles are more prone to liquefaction and other related seismic hazards under earthquake ground shaking. The study recommends to deal the deeper soil sections more carefully for estimating the amplification factors for seismic hazard assessment at the surface.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2023

Antalya is located south part of minor Asia, one of the biggest cities in Türkiye. As a result of population growth and vast migration to Antalya, many parts of the city that were not suitable for construction due to its geological conditions have become urban areas, and most of these urban areas are full of poorly engineered buildings. Poor engineering has been combined with unplanned urbanization, that causes utter vulnerability to disasters in Antalya. When an earthquake-prone city, Antalya faces with an earthquake risk, fear arises in society. To overcome this problem, it has become necessary to investigate the building stock, expressed in hundreds of thousands, in a fast and reliable way and then perform an urban transformation to create the perception of structural safety. However, the excessive building stock, labor, and economic problems made the implementation stage challenging and revealed the necessity of finding alternative solutions in the field. The present study presents a novel approach for assessment and model based on a rapid visual inspection method to transform areas under earthquake risk in Türkiye. The approach aimed to rank the interventions for decision-making mechanisms by making comparisons in the scale hierarchy. In the present study, to investigate the proposed approach, over 26,000 buildings were examined in Antalya, which is the fifth largest city in Türkiye that has a population of over 2.5 Million. In the results of the study, the risk classification was defined in the framework of building, block, street, neighborhood, and district scales.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.109-127
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• 2010

This work aims at introducing structural sensitivity analysis capabilities into existing commercial finite element software codes for the purpose of mapping retrofit strategies for a broad group of structures including heritage-type buildings. More specifically, the first stage sensitivity analysis is implemented for the standard deterministic environment, followed by stochastic structural sensitivity analysis defined for the probabilistic environment in a subsequent, second phase. It is believed that this new generation of software that will be released by the industrial partner will address the needs of a rapidly developing specialty within the engineering design profession, namely commercial retrofit and rehabilitation activities. In congested urban areas, these activities are carried out in reference to a certain percentage of the contemporary building stock that can no longer be demolished to give room for new construction because of economical, historical or cultural reasons. Furthermore, such analysis tools are becoming essential in reference to a new generation of national codes that spell out in detail how retrofit strategies ought to be implemented. More specifically, our work focuses on identifying the minimum-cost intervention on a given structure undergoing retrofit. Finally, an additional factor that arises in earthquake-prone regions across the world is the random nature of seismic activity that further complicates the task of determining the dynamic overstress that is being induced in the building stock and the additional demands placed on the supporting structural system.