• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.409-414
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• 2003

A multi-span bridge model that is fixed in longitudinal direction at a single pier can be very vulnerable to the earthquake ground motion in longitudinal direction. If the seismic load exceeds the capacity of the pier, it can be severely damaged. However, such incident can be prevented if piers of movable support share the seismic load as setting up seismic load transmitting device. This study is performed to investigate seismic performance of continuous bridge model with seismic load transmitting devices which is proposed newly. It is found that continuous bridge model system with device is more effective about displacement control and seismic performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.60-70
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• 2022

This paper proposes an optimal design method of a seismic reinforcement system for the seismic performance of adjacent asymmetric-stiffness structures with viscous dampers. The first method considers plan asymmetry for efficient seismic reinforcement, and evaluates the seismic performance of optimal design applied to two cases of modeling: adjacent stiffness-asymmetric structures and adjacent stiffness-symmetric structures. The second method considers the response of asymmetric structures to derive the optimal objective function, and evaluates seismic efficiency of the objective function applied to two cases of responses: horizontal displacement and torsion. Numerical analyses are conducted on 7- and 10-story structures with a uni-asymmetric-stiffness plan using six cases of historic earthquakes, normalized to 0.4g. The results indicate that the seismic performance is excellent as modeled by adjacent asymmetric-stiffness structures and how much horizontal displacement is applied as the objective function.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.663-677
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• 2023

The self-centering energy-dissipating coupled wall panels (SECWs) possess a dual capacity of resiliency and energy dissipation. Used in steel frames, the SECWs can localize the damage of structures and reduce residual drifts. Based on OpenSEES, the nonlinear models were established and validated by experimental results. The seismic design procedure of steel frame with SECW structures (SF-SECW) was proposed in accordance with four-level seismic fortification objectives. Nonlinear time-history response analyses were carried out to validate the reasonability of seismic design procedure for 6-story and 12-story structures. Results show that the inter-story drifts of designed structures are less than drift limits. According to incremental dynamic analyses (IDA), the fragility curves of mentioned-above structure models under different limit states were obtained. The results indicate that designed structures have good seismic performance and meet the seismic fortification objectives.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.3342-3351
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• 2023

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipelines in nuclear power plants (NPPs) have to meet high requirements for seismic performance. HDPE pipes have been proved to have good seismic performance, but joints are the weak links in the pipelines, and pipeline failures usually initiate from the defects inside the joints. Limited data are available on the seismic performance of butt-fusion joints of HDPE pipelines in NPPs, especially in terms of defects changes inside the joints after earthquakes. In this paper, full-scale shaking table tests were performed on a test section of suspended HDPE pipelines in an NPP, which included straight pipes, elbows, and 10 butt-fusion joints. During the tests, the seismic load-induced strain of the joints was analyzed by strain gauges, and it was much smaller than the internal pressure and self-weight-induced strain. Before and after the shaking table tests, phased array ultrasonic testing (PA-UT) was conducted to detect defects inside the joints. The locations, numbers, and dimensions of the defects were analyzed. It was found that defects were more likely to occur in elbows joints. No new defect was observed after the shaking table tests, and the defects showed no significant growth, indicating the satisfactory seismic performance of the butt-fusion joints.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.289-304
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• 2024

The seismic performance of traditional steel frame-shear wall structures was significantly improved by the application of self-centering steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) wall-panel structures in the steel frames. This novel resilience functionality can rapidly restore the structure after an earthquake. The presented steel frame with steel-reinforced concrete self-centering wall-panel structures (SF-SCW) was validated, indicating its excellent seismic performance. The seismic design method based on bear capacity cannot correctly predict the elastic-plastic performance of the structure, especially certain weak floors that might be caused by a major fracture. A four-level seismic performance index, including intact function, continued utilization, life safety, and near-collapse, was established to achieve the ideal failure mode. The seismic design method, based on structural displacement, was proposed by considering performance objectives of the different seismic action levels. The pushover analysis of a six-floor SF-SCW structure was carried out under the proposed design method and the results showed that this six-floor structure could achieve the predicted failure mode.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.4
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• pp.481-494
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• 2020

In this paper, a probability-based procedure to evaluate the performance of existing RC structures exposed to seismic and fire actions is presented. The procedure is demonstrated with reference to an existing old school building, located in Italy. The vulnerability assessment of the building highlights deficiencies under both static and seismic loads. Retrofit operations are designed to achieve the seismic safety. The idea of the work consists in assessing the performance of the existing and retrofitted building in terms of both the seismic and fire resistance. The seismic retrofit and fire resistance upgrading follow different paths, depending on the specific configuration of the building. A good seismic retrofit does not entail an improving of the fire resistance and vice versa. The goal of the current work is to study the variation of response due to the uncertainties considered in records/fire curves selection and to carry out the assessment of the studied RC structure by obtaining fragility curves under the effect of different records/temperature. The results show the fragility curves before and after retrofit operations and both in terms of seismic performance and fire resistance performance, measuring the percent improving for the different limit states.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.513-534
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• 2003

Using fluid dampers to connect adjacent buildings for enhancing their seismic resistant performance has been recently investigated but limited to linear elastic adjacent buildings only. This paper presents a study of inelastic seismic response of adjacent buildings linked by fluid dampers. A nonlinear finite element planar model using plastic beam element is first constructed to simulate two steel frames connected by fluid dampers. Computed linear elastic seismic responses of the two steel frames with and without fluid dampers under moderate seismic events are then compared with the experimental results obtained from shaking table tests. Finally, elastic-plastic seismic responses of the two steel frames with and without fluid dampers are extensively computed, and the fluid damper performance on controlling inelastic seismic response of the two steel frames is assessed. The effects of the fundamental frequency ratio and structural damping ratio of the two steel frames on the damper performance are also examined. The results show that not only in linear elastic stage but also in inelastic stage, the seismic resistant performance of the two steel frames of different fundamental frequencies can be significantly enhanced if they are properly linked by fluid dampers of appropriate parameters.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.701-713
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• 2018

Many bridges in Algeria were constructed without taking into account the seismic effect in the design. The implantation of a new regulation code RPOA-2008 requires a higher reinforcement ratio than with the seismic coefficient method, which is a common feature of the existing bridges. For better perception of the performance bridge piers and evaluation of the risk assessment of existing bridges, fragility analysis is an interesting tool to assess the vulnerability study of these structures. This paper presents a comparative performance of bridge piers designed with the seismic coefficient method and the new RPOA-2008. The performances of the designed bridge piers are assessed using thirty ground motion records and incremental dynamic analysis. Fragility curves for the bridge piers are plotted using probabilistic seismic demand model to perform the seismic vulnerability analysis. The impact of changing the reinforcement strength on the seismic behavior of the designed bridge piers is checked by fragility analysis. The fragility results reveal that the probability of damage with the RPOA-2008 is less and perform well comparing to the conventional design pier.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4252-4265
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• 2023

In the case of nuclear power plants near end of their design life, a reassessment of the performance of safetyrelated equipment may be necessary to determine whether to shut down or extend the operation of the power plant. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the level of performance decline due to degradation. Electrical cabinets, including MCC and switchgear, are representative safety-related equipment. Several studies have assessed the degradation and seismic performance of nuclear power plant equipment. Most of those researches are limited to individual components due to the size of safety-related equipment and test equipment. However, only a few studies assessed the degradation performance of electrical cabinets. The equipment of various nuclear power plants is anchored to concrete foundations, and crack in concrete foundations is one of the most representative of degradation that could be visually confirmed. However, it is difficult to find a study for analysis through testing the effect of cracks in concrete foundations on the response of electrical cabinet internal equipment fixed by anchors. In this study, using a simple cabinet model considering cast-in-place anchor in uncracked and cracked concretes, a tri-axial shaking table tests were performed and the seismic behavior were observed.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.75-80
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• 2000

Evaluation method of seismic performance has mainly used elastic spectrum analysis. This method has simplicity of analysis but deficiency of accuracy. And evaluation method of seismic performance using inelastic dynamic analysis reflects accurately inelasticity of material but hardly reflects site effects. This study suggested evaluation scheme of seismic performance for bridge structure using capacity spectrum method applied inelastic static analysis and standard design response spectrum of Korea Standard Specification for Highway Bridge. Two results, capacity spectrum method and inelastic dynamic analysis method, are very similar. As a result, this study appropriately supply both simplicity of analysis and accuracy of result.