• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.6
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• pp.789-807
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• 2020

Multiple earthquakes that occur during short seismic intervals affect the inelastic behavior of the structures. Sequential ground motions against the single earthquake event cause the building structure to face loss in stiffness and its strength. Although, numerous research studies had been conducted in this research area but still significant limitations exist such as: 1) use of traditional design procedure which usually considers single seismic excitation; 2) selecting a seismic excitation data based on earthquake events occurred at another place and time. Therefore, it is important to study the effects of successive ground motions on the framed structures. The objective of this study is to overcome the aforementioned limitations through testing a two storey RC building structural model scaled down to 1/10 ratio through a similitude relation. The scaled model is examined using a shaking table. Thereafter, the experimental model results are validated with simulated results using ETABS software. The test framed specimen is subjected to sequential five artificial and four real-time earthquake motions. Dynamic response history analysis has been conducted to investigate the i) observed response and crack pattern; ii) maximum displacement; iii) residual displacement; iv) Interstorey drift ratio and damage limitation. The results of the study conclude that the low-rise building model has ability to resist successive artificial ground motion from its strength. Sequential artificial ground motions cause the framed structure to displace each storey twice in correlation with vary first artificial seismic vibration. The displacement parameters showed that real-time successive ground motions have a limited impact on the low-rise reinforced concrete model. The finding shows that traditional seismic design EC8 requires to reconsider the traditional design procedure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.279-293
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• 2021

Most of the existing seismic codes for RC buildings consider only a scenario earthquake for analysis, often characterized by the response spectrum at the specified location. However, any real earthquake event often involves occurrences of multiple earthquakes within a few hours or days, possessing similar or even higher energy than the first earthquake. This critically impairs the rehabilitation measures thereby resulting in the accumulation of structural damages for subsequent earthquakes after the first earthquake. Also, the existing seismic provisions account for the non-linear response of an RC building frame implicitly by specifying a constant response modification factor (R) in a linear elastic design. However, the 'R' specified does not address the changes in structural configurations of RC moment-resisting frames (RC MRFs) viz., building height, number of bays present, bay width, irregularities arising out of mass and stiffness changes, etc. resulting in changed dynamic characteristics of the structural system. Hence, there is an imperative need to assess the seismic performance under sequential earthquake ground motions, considering the adequacy of code-specified 'R' in the representation of dynamic characteristics of RC buildings. Therefore, the present research is focused on the evaluation of the non-linear response of medium-rise 3D RC MRFs with and without vertical irregularities under bi-directional sequential earthquake ground motions using non-linear dynamic analysis. It is evident from the results that collapse probability increases, and 'R' reduces significantly for various RC MRFs subjected to sequential earthquakes, pronouncing the vulnerability and inadequacy of estimation of design base shear by code-specified 'R' under sequential earthquakes.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.445-457
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• 2020

An ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission system has the advantages of low circuitry loss, high bulk capacity and long-distance transmission capabilities over conventional transmission systems, but it is easier for this system to cross fault rupture zones and become damaged during earthquakes. This paper experimentally and numerically investigates the seismic responses and collapse failure of a UHV transmission tower-line system crossing a fault. A 1:25 reduced-scale model is constructed and tested by using shaking tables to evaluate the influence of the forward-directivity and fling-step effects on the responses of suspension-type towers. Furthermore, the collapse failure tests of the system under specific cross-fault scenarios are carried out. The corresponding finite element (FE) model is established in ABAQUS software and verified based on the Tian-Ma-Qu material model. The results reveal that the seismic responses of the transmission system under the cross-fault scenario are larger than those under the near-fault scenario, and the permanent ground displacements in the fling-step ground motions tend to magnify the seismic responses of the fault-crossing transmission system. The critical collapse peak ground acceleration (PGA), failure mode and weak position determined by the model experiment and numerical simulation are in relatively good agreement. The sequential failure of the members in Segments 4 and 5 leads to the collapse of the entire model, whereas other segments basically remain in the intact state.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.2818-2827
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• 2015

The spatial patterns and characteristics of these sequential earthquakes and ground motions induced by the earthquakes are examined by contours of peak ground velocity (PGV) and geometric mean peak ground velocity (GMPGV) using both ordinary kriging in geographical information system (GIS) and data, the records obtained from strong motion stations, acquired after recent sequential earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand (NZ). The performance of underground water pipeline system is examined by using data acquired after earthquakes. The spatial distribution of GMPGV is superimposed on water pipeline repairs throughout the water distribution system in areas affected principally by transient ground motion using GIS and then water pipeline repair rates, expressed as repairs/km, for different types of pipe are evaluated relative to the estimated GMPGV outside liquefaction areas. The earthquake performance of underground water pipeline systems is summarized in this study.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.171-180
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• 2015

A shaking table test was conducted at the E-Defense shaking table facility to investigate the damage and collapse behavior of a steel high-rise building under exceedingly large ground motions. The specimen is a one-third scale 18-story steel moment frame designed and constructed according to design specifications and practices used in the 1980s and 1990s. The shaking table tests used a long-duration, long-period ground motion simulated for a sequential Tokai, Nankai, and Nankai earthquake scenario. The building specimen was subjected to a series of progressively increasing scaled motions until it completely collapsed. The damage to the steel frame began through the yielding of beams along lower stories and column bases of the first story. After several excitations by increasing scaled motions, cracks initiated at the welded moment connections and fractures in the beam flanges spread to the lower stories. As the shear strength of each story decreased, the drifts of lower stories increased and the frame finally collapsed and settled on the supporting frame. From the test, a typical progression of collapse for a tall steel moment frame was obtained, and the hysteretic behavior of steel structural members including deterioration due to local buckling and fracture were observed. The results provide important information for further understanding and an accurate numerical simulation of collapse behavior.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.21-38
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• 2002

A control algorithm combining viscous and non-linear Reid damping mechanisms has been recently proposed by the authors to command active friction dampers. In this paper, friction dampers and the proposed algorithm are applied to control the seismic responses of a nonlinear 20-story building. Piezoelectric stack actuators are used to implement the control algorithm. The capacity of each damper is determined by the practical size of piezoelectric actuators and the availability of power supply. The saturation effect of the actuators on the building responses is investigated. To minimize the peak story drift ratio or floor acceleration of the building structure, a practical sequential procedure is developed to sub-optimally place the dampers on various floors. The effectiveness of active friction dampers and the efficiency of the proposed sequential procedure are verified by subjecting the building structure to four earthquakes of various intensities. The performance of 80 dampers and 137 dampers installed on the structure is evaluated according to 5 criteria. Numerical simulations indicated that the proposed control algorithm effectively reduces the seismic responses of the uncontrolled 20-story building, such as inelastic deformation. The sub-optimal placement of dampers based on peak acceleration outperforms that based on peak drift ratio for structures subjected to near-fault ground motions. Saturation of piezoelectric actuators has adverse effect on floor acceleration.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.221-230
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• 2023

This study proposes a methodology for assessing seismic liquefaction hazard by implementing high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) ground models with high-density/high-precision site investigation data acquired in an area of interest, which would be linked to geotechnical numerical analysis tools. It is possible to estimate the vulnerability of earthquake-induced geotechnical phenomena (ground motion amplification, liquefaction, landslide, etc.) and their triggering complex disasters across an area for urban development with several stages of high-density datasets. In this study, the spatial-ground models for city development were built with a 3D high-precision grid of 5 m × 5 m × 1 m by applying geostatistic methods. Finally, after comparing each prediction error, the geotechnical model from the Gaussian sequential simulation is selected to assess earthquake-induced geotechnical hazards. In particular, with seven independent input earthquake motions, liquefaction analysis with finite element analyses and hazard mappings with LPI and LSN are performed reliably based on the spatial geotechnical models in the study area. Furthermore, various phenomena and parameters, including settlement in the city planning area, are assessed in terms of geotechnical vulnerability also based on the high-resolution spatial-ground modeling. This case study on the high-precision 3D ground model-based zonations in the area of interest verifies the usefulness in assessing spatially earthquake-induced hazards and geotechnical vulnerability and their decision-making support.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Historical earthquakes have shown that successive seismic events may occur in regions of high seismicity. Such a sequence of earthquakes has the potential to increase the damage level of the structures, since any rehabilitation between the successive ground motions is practically impossible due to lack of time. Few studies about this issue can be found in literature, most of which focused their attention on the seismic response of SDOF systems or planar frame structures. The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of seismic sequences on the damage level of 3D multistorey R/C buildings with various structural systems. For the purposes of the above investigation a comprehensive assessment is conducted using three double-symmetric and three asymmetric in plan medium-rise R/C buildings, which are designed on the basis of the current seismic codes. The buildings are analyzed by nonlinear time response analysis using 80 bidirectional seismic sequences. In order to account for the variable orientation of the seismic motion, the two horizontal accelerograms of each earthquake record are applied along horizontal orthogonal axes forming 12 different angles with the structural axes. The assessment of the results revealed that successive ground motions can lead to significant increase of the structural damage compared to the damage caused by the corresponding single seismic events. Furthermore, the incident angle can radically alter the successive earthquake phenomenon depending on the special characteristics of the structure, the number of the sequential earthquakes, as well as the distance of the record from the fault.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.495-521
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• 2016

Ancient monuments of Greek and Roman classical architecture usually consist of multi-drum columns that are constructed of stone blocks placed on top of each other. Several research studies deal with the seismic behaviour of such structures, since earthquakes are common causes of destruction of such monuments. This paper investigates the effect of multiple earthquakes on the seismic performance of multi-drum columns, through numerical simulations and parametric analyses. The Discrete Element Method and an appropriate contact model have been implemented in a specially developed software application that is able to efficiently perform the necessary simulations in two dimensions. Specifically, various strong ground excitations are used in series for the computation of the collective final deformation of multi-drum columns. In order to calculate this cumulative deformation for a series of ground motions, the individual deformation of the column for each excitation is computed and then used as initial conditions for the next earthquake excitation. Various multi-drum columns with different dimensions are also considered in the analyses in order to examine how the geometric characteristics of columns can affect their seismic sequence behaviour, in combination with the excitation frequency content.