• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.475-489
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• 2015

This study presents the validation of a numerical model developed for dynamic analysis of buildings with roller seismic isolation bearings. Experimental methods allowed validation of the motion equations of a physical model of a building with and without roller bearings under base excitation. The results are presented in terms of modal parameters, frequency response functions (FRFs) and acceleration response. The agreement between numerical and experimental results proves the accuracy of the developed numerical model. Finally, the performance of the constructed seismic protection system is assessed through a parametric study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.683-695
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• 2022

Conventional braces are often used to provide stiffness to structures; however due to buckling they cannot be used as seismic energy dissipating elements. In this study, a seismic energy dissipation device is proposed which is comprised of a bracing member and a steel hysteretic damper made of steel hexagonal plates. The hexagonal shaped designated fuse causes formation of plastic hinges under axial deformation of the brace. The main advantages of this damper compared to conventional metallic dampers and buckling-restrained braces are the stable and controlled energy dissipation capability with ease of manufacture. The mechanical behavior of the damper is formulated first and a design procedure is provided. Next, the theoretical formulation and the efficiency of the damper are verified using finite element (FE) analyses. An analytical model of the damper is established and its efficiency is further investigated by applying it to seismic retrofit of a case study structure. The seismic performance of the structure is evaluated before and after retrofit in terms of maximum interstory drift ratio, top story displacement, residual displacement, and energy dissipation of dampers. Overall, the median of maximum interstory drift ratios is reduced from 3.8% to 1.6% and the residual displacement decreased in the x-direction which corresponds to the predominant mode shape of the structure. The analysis results show that the developed damper can provide cost-effective seismic protection of structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1143-1164
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• 2016

Time Delay of Arrival (TDOA) estimation methods based on correlation function analysis play an important role in the micro-seismic event monitoring. It makes full use of the similarity in the recorded signals that are from the same source. However, those methods are subjected to the noise effect, particularly when the global similarity of the signals is low. This paper proposes a new approach for micro-seismic monitoring based on cross wavelet transform. The cross wavelet transform is utilized to analyse the measured signals under micro-seismic events, and the cross wavelet power spectrum is used to measure the similarity of two signals in a multi-scale dimension and subsequently identify TDOA. The offset time instant associated with the maximum cross wavelet transform spectrum power is identified as TDOA, and then the location of micro-seismic event can be identified. Individual and statistical identification tests are performed with measurement data from an in-field mine. Experimental studies demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly improves the robustness and accuracy of micro-seismic source locating in mines compared to several existing methods, such as the cross-correlation, multi-correlation, STA/LTA and Kurtosis methods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.241-245
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• 2003

This paper presents the LRB-based hybrid base isolation system employing additional semiactive control devices for seismic protection of cable-stayed bridges by examining the ASCE first generation benchmark problem for a cable-stayed bridge. In this study, ideal magnetorheological dampers (MRDs) are considered as additional semiactive control devices. Numerical simulation results show that the hybrid base isolation system is effective in reducing the structural responses of the benchmark cable-stayed bridge under the historical earthquakes considered. The simulation results also demonstrate that the hybrid base Isolation system employing semiactive MRDs is robust to the stiffness uncertainty of the structure. Therefore, the LRB-based hybrid base isolation system employing MRDs could be appropriate in real applications for full-scale civil infrastructures.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.45-53
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• 2010

The unseating failure of bridges, which is one of the most severe types of damage leading to the loss of transportation function, should be avoided in earthquakes. As a measure of prevention of unseating failure resulting from the failure of bearings, bearing-protection devices are frequently used. They are installed beside the bearings and protect the bearings by resisting a seismic load transmitted from the superstructure. In order to show appropriate seismic performance, the strength of anchors as well as of device bodies should be confirmed. In Korea, they have been installed only according to the design provided by device agents, because a proper design method for the anchors has not been established. In this study the performance of bearing-protection devices with various heights of concrete bed blocks has been investigated experimentally, and a proper design method has been proposed to secure seismic performance.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.85-108
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• 2013

The research presented in this paper deals with the seismic protection of existing frame structures by means of passive energy dissipation. A displacement-based procedure to design dissipative bracings for the seismic protection of frame structures is proposed and some applications are discussed. The procedure is based on the displacement based design using the capacity spectrum method, no dynamic non linear analyses are needed. Two performance objective have been considered developing the procedure: protect the structure against structural damage or collapse and avoid non-structural damage as well as excessive base shear. The compliance is obtained dimensioning dissipative braces to limit global displacements and interstorey drifts. Reference is made to BRB braces, but the procedure can easily be extended to any typology of dissipative brace. The procedure has been validated through a comparison with nonlinear dynamic response of two 2D r.c. frames, one bare and one infilled. Finally a real application, on an existing 3D building where dissipative braces available on market are used, is discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.633-656
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• 2001

In this paper, modal control with direct output feedback is formulated in a systematic manner for easy implementation. Its application to the seismic protection of structural systems is verified by a shaking table test, which involves a full-scale building model and an active bracing system as the control device. Two modal control cases, namely, one full-state feedback and one direct output feedback control were tested and compared. The experimental result shows that in mitigating the seismic response of building structures, modal control with direct output feedback can be as effective and efficient as that with full-state feedback control. For practical concerns, the control performance of the proposed method in the presence of sensor noise and stiffness modeling error was also investigated. The numerical result shows that although the control force may be increased, the maximum floor displacements of the controlled structure are very insensitive to sensor noise and modeling error.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.65-70
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• 2017

The seismic performance of press fittings is studied, which is one of the weldless joints of stainless steel pipe used in the water piping of recent fire protection system. The piping of this study was constructed based on the piping connection reference of NFPA 13. The permissible displacement of the piping was set as the allowed amount which is given in the Building Structure Standard, and the measurements were repeated 10 times. The Von-mises stress of the piping was 2.48 and 1.25 times of the allowed amount of stress, which was less than the standard, noted three times on the NPPs Allowable Stress for Level D service loading. Therefore, the press fittings shows enough seismic performance.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2016

The Second Shutdown Drive Mechanism (SSDM) provides an alternate and independent means of reactor shutdown. The Second Shutdown Rods (SSRs) of SSDMs are poised at the top of the core by the hydraulic force driven from a hydraulic system during normal operation. The rods drop by gravity when a trip is commended by a Reactor Protection System, Alternate Protection System, Automatic Seismic Trip System or operator by means of power off solenoid valves of hydraulic system. This paper describes the test results of seismic qualification of a prototype SSDM hydraulic system to demonstrate that its structural integrity and operability (functionality) are maintained during and after seismic excitations, that is, an adequacy of the SSDM design. From the results, this paper shows that the SSDM hydraulic system satisfies all its design requirements without any malfunctions during and after seismic excitations.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.115-132
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• 2015

This paper presents a new method for seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings with reference to their operational limit state. The importance of this kind of evaluation arises from the civil protection necessity that some buildings, considered strategic for seismic emergency management, should retain their functionality also after a destructive earthquake. The method is based on the identification of experimental modal parameters from ambient vibrations measurements. The knowledge of the experimental modes allows to perform a linear spectral analysis computing the maximum structural drifts of the building caused by an assigned earthquake. Operational condition is then evaluated by comparing the maximum building drifts with the reference value assigned by the Italian Technical Code for the operational limit state. The uncertainty about the actual building seismic frequencies, typically significantly lower than the ambient ones, is explicitly taken into account through a probabilistic approach that allows to define for the building the Operational Index together with the Operational Probability Curve. The method is validated with experimental seismic data from a permanently monitored public building: by comparing the probabilistic prediction and the building experimental drifts, resulting from three weak earthquakes, the reliability of the method is confirmed. Finally an application of the method to a strategic building in Italy is presented: all the procedure, from ambient vibrations measurement, to seismic input definition, up to the computation of the Operational Probability Curve is illustrated.