• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.343-356
• /
• 2022

As a part of round robin analysis to develop a finite element elastic-plastic seismic analysis procedure for nuclear safety class 1 components, a series of parametric analyses was carried out on the simulated pressurizer surge line system model to investigate sensitivity of the analysis results to finite element analysis variables. The analysis on the surge line system model considered dynamic effect due to the seismic load corresponding to PGA 0.6 g and elastic-plastic material behavior based on the Chaboche combined hardening model. From the parametric analysis results, it was found that strains such as accumulated equivalent plastic strain and equivalent plastic strain are more sensitive to the analysis variables than von Mises effect stress. The parametric analysis results also identified that finite element density and ovalization option in the elbow elements have more significant effect on the analysis results than the other variables.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.327-336
• /
• 2024

Evaluation of tunnel performance in seismic-prone areas demands efficient means of estimating performance at different hazard levels. The present study introduces an innovative push-over analysis approach which employs the standard earthquake spectrum to simulate the performance of a tunnel. The numerical simulation has taken into account the lining and surrounding rock to calculate the rock-tunnel interaction subjected to a static push-over displacement regime. Elastic perfectly plastic models for the lining and hardening strain rock medium were used to portray the development of plastic hinges, nonlinear deformation, and performance of the tunnel structure. Separately using a computational algorithm, the non-linear response spectrum was approximated from the average shear strain of the rock model. A NATM tunnel in Turkey was chosen for parametric study. A seismic performance curve and two performance thresholds are introduced that are based on the proposed nonlinear seismic static loading approach and the formation of plastic hinges. The tunnel model was also subjected to a harmonic excitation with a smooth response spectrum and different amplitudes in the fully-dynamic phase to assess the accuracy of the approach. The parametric study investigated the effects of the lining stiffness and capacity and soil stiffness on the seismic performance of the tunnel.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.11-25
• /
• 2018

A numerical approach for the evaluation of the flexural response of Steel Fibrous Concrete (SFC) cross-sections with arbitrary geometry, with or without conventional steel longitudinal reinforcing bars is proposed. Resisting bending moment versus curvature curves are calculated using verified non-linear constitutive stress-strain relationships for the SFC under compression and tension which include post-peak and post-cracking softening parts. A new compressive stress-strain model for SFC is employed that has been derived from test data of 125 stress-strain curves and 257 strength values providing the overall compressive behaviour of various SFC mixtures. The proposed sectional analysis is verified using existing experimental data of 42 SFC beams, and it predicts the flexural capacity and the curvature ductility of SFC members reasonably well. The developed approach also provides rational and more accurate compressive and tensile stress-strain curves along with bending moment versus curvature curves with regards to the predictions of relevant existing models.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.3 no.5
• /
• pp.767-781
• /
• 2012

The residual capacity against collapse of a main shock-damaged bridge can be coupled with the aftershock ground motion hazard to make an objective decision on its probability of collapse in aftershocks. In this paper, a steel tower suspension bridge with a main span of 2000 m is adopted for a case-study. Seismic responses of the bridge in longitudinal and transversal directions are analyzed using dynamic elasto-plastic finite displacement theory. The analysis is conducted in two stages: main shock and aftershocks. The ability of the main shock-damaged bridge to resist aftershocks is discussed. Results show that the damage caused by accumulated plastic strain can be ignored in the long-span suspension bridge. And under longitudinal and transversal seismic excitations, the damage is prone to occur at higher positions of the tower and the shaft-beam junctions. When aftershocks are not large enough to cause plastic strain in the structure, the aftershock excitation can be ignored in the seismic damage analysis of the bridge. It is also found that the assessment of seismic damage can be determined by superposition of damage under independent action of seismic excitations.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.348-359
• /
• 2018

A series of indoor simulation tests on a large-sized shaking table was performed, which was used to simulate the earthquake ground motion for the pipe-soil interaction system to be tested. The purpose of this study is to examine the dynamic characteristic and seismic response of a length of PVC pipeline lay on a clay seabed under seismic load. The pipeline was fully instrumented to provide strain and acceleration responses in both transverse and in-line. Dynamical modal tests show that corresponding mode shapes vertically and horizontally are basically the same. But the absolute values of the natural frequencies vertically are all higher than those corresponding values in transverse. It turned out that the geometry configuration of riser affects its stiffness. Seismic response of pipeline depends significantly on the waveform, and Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA). As the seismic loading progressed, the strain response was severe around both TDZ and catenary zone. Additionally, strain responses in top and bottom positions were more severe than the result in left or right side of the pipeline in the same section.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.59-68
• /
• 2018

This study compares true stress-true strain curves obtained by tensile tests of various piping materials with bi-linear stress-strain approximation suggested in the JSME Code Case(CC) Draft, a guideline for piping seismic inelastic response analysis. Based on the comparisons, the reliability of the bi-linear approximation is evaluated. It is found that bi-linear stress-strain curve of TP316 stainless steel is in good agreement with its true stress-true strain curve. However, Bi-linear stress-strain curves of TP304 stainless steel and carbon steels determined by the approximation cannot appropriately estimate their stress-strain behavior. Accordingly new bi-linear approximations for carbon steels and low-alloy steels are proposed. The proposed bi-linear approximations for carbon and low-alloy steels, which include the temperature effect on strength and hardening of material, estimate their stress-strain behavior reasonably well.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.197-217
• /
• 2012

Detailed analysis of internal forces of exterior beam-column joints of RC frames under seismic action is reported in this paper. A formula is derived for calculating the average joint shear from the column shears, and a formula is proposed to estimate torque in eccentric joints induced by seismic action. Average joint shear stress and strain are defined consistently for exterior joints, which can be used to establish joint shear constitutive relationship. Numerical results of shear, bending moment and torque in joints induced by seismic action are presented for a pair of concentric and eccentric exterior connections extracted from a seismically designed RC frame, and two sections located at the levels of beam bottom and top reinforcement, respectively, are identified as the critical joint sections for evaluating seismic joint behavior. A simplified analysis of the effects of joint shear and torque on the flexural strengths of the critical joint sections is made for the two connections extracted from the frame, and the results indicate that joint shear and torque induced by a strong earthquake may lead to "joint-hinging" mechanism of seismically designed RC frames.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.190-202
• /
• 2018

Maintaining the integrity of the major equipment in nuclear power plants is critical to the safety of the structures. In particular, the soundness of the piping is a critical matter that is directly linked to the safety of nuclear power plants. Currently, the limit state of the piping design standard is plastic collapse, and the actual pipe failure is leakage due to a penetration crack. Actual pipe failure, however, cannot be applied to the analysis of seismic fragility because it is difficult to quantify. This paper proposes methods of measuring the failure strain and deformation angle, which are necessary for evaluating the quantitative failure criteria of the steel pipe elbow using an image measurement system. Furthermore, the failure strain and deformation angle, which cannot be measured using the conventional sensors, were efficiently measured using the proposed methods.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.10 no.5
• /
• pp.1089-1109
• /
• 2016

Modified two-surface model (M2SM) is one of the steel elasto-plastic hysteretic constitutive models that consider both analysis accuracy and efficiency. However, when M2SM is used for complex strain history, sometimes the results are irrational due to the limitation of stress-strain path judgment. In this paper, the defect of M2SM was re-modified by improving the judgment of stress-strain paths. The accuracy and applicability of the improved method were verified on both material and structural level. Based on this improvement, the nonlinear time-history analysis was carried out for a deck-through steel arch bridge with a 200 m-long span under the ground motions of Chi-Chi earthquake and Niigata earthquake. In the analysis, we compared the results obtained by hysteretic constitutive models of improved two-surface model (I2SM) presented in this paper, M2SM and the bilinear kinematic hardening model (BKHM). Results show that, although the analysis precision of displacement response of different steel hysteretic models differs little from each other, the stress-strain responses of the structure are affected by steel hysteretic models apparently. The difference between the stress-strain responses obtained by I2SM and M2SM cannot be neglected. In significantly damaged areas, BKHM gives smaller stress result and obviously different strain response compared with I2SM and M2SM, and tends to overestimate the effect of hysteretic energy dissipation. Moreover, at some position with severe damage, BKHM may underestimate the size of seismic damaged areas. Different steel hysteretic models also have influences on structural damage evaluation results based on deformation behavior and low cycle fatigue, and may lead to completely different judgment of failure, especially in severely damaged areas.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Conference
• /
• 2002.10a
• /
• pp.329-332
• /
• 2002

In the present study, in order to apply a cyclic viscoelastic-viscoplastic constitutive model to multi-layered ground conditions during large earthquake, the numerical simulations of the 1995 Hyogoken Nanbu Earthquake at Port Island, Kobe, Japan, were performed by the seismic respons analysis. From the seismic response analysis, it was verified that a cyclic viscoelastic-viscoplastic constitutive model can give a good description of the damping characteristics of clay accurately during large event which induces plastic deformation in large strain range.