• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.267-277
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• 2017

Base-isolation is now being adopted as a retrofitting strategy to improve seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete (r.c.) framed structures subjected to far-fault earthquakes. However, the increase in deformability of a base-isolated framed building may lead to amplification in the structural response under the long-duration horizontal pulses of high-magnitude near-fault earthquakes, which can become critical once the strength level of a fire-weakened r.c. superstructure is reduced. The aim of the present work is to investigate the nonlinear seismic response of fire-damaged r.c. framed structures retrofitted by base-isolation. For this purpose, a five-storey r.c. framed building primarily designed (as fixed-base) in compliance with a former Italian seismic code for a medium-risk zone, is to be retrofitted by the insertion of elastomeric bearings to meet the requirements of the current Italian code in a high-risk seismic zone. The nonlinear seismic response of the original (fixed-base) and retrofitted (base-isolated) test structures in a no fire situation are compared with those in the event of fire in the superstructure, where parametric temperature-time curves are defined at the first level, the first two and the upper levels. A lumped plasticity model describes the inelastic behaviour of the fire-damaged r.c. frame members, while a nonlinear force-displacement law is adopted for the elastomeric bearings. The average root-mean-square deviation of the observed spectrum from the target design spectrum together with a suitable intensity measure are chosen to select and scale near- and far-fault earthquakes on the basis of the design hypotheses adopted.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.27-44
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• 2020

This work presents a comparison of three performance-based seismic design methods (PBSD) as applied to plane steel frames having eccentric braces (EBFs) and buckling restrained braces (BRBFs). The first method uses equivalent modal damping ratios (ξ_k), referring to an equivalent multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) linear system, which retains the mass, the elastic stiffness and responds in the same way as the original non-linear MDOF system. The second method employs modal strength reduction factors (${\bar{q}}_k$) resulting from the corresponding modal damping ratios. Contrary to the behavior factors of code based design methods, both ξ_k and ${\bar{q}}_k$ account for the first few modes of significance and incorporate target deformation metrics like inter-storey drift ratio (IDR) and local ductility as well as structural characteristics like structural natural period, and soil types. Explicit empirical expressions of ξ_k and ${\bar{q}}_k$, recently presented by the present authors elsewhere, are also provided here for reasons of completeness and easy reference. The third method, developed here by the authors, is based on a hybrid force/displacement (HFD) seismic design scheme, since it combines the force-base design (FBD) method with the displacement-based design (DBD) method. According to this method, seismic design is accomplished by using a behavior factor (q_h), empirically expressed in terms of the global ductility of the frame, which takes into account both non-structural and structural deformation metrics. These expressions for q_h are obtained through extensive parametric studies involving non-linear dynamic analysis (NLDA) of 98 frames, subjected to 100 far-fault ground motions that correspond to four soil types of Eurocode 8. Furthermore, these factors can be used in conjunction with an elastic acceleration design spectrum for seismic design purposes. Finally, a comparison among the above three seismic design methods and the Eurocode 8 method is conducted with the aid of non-linear dynamic analyses via representative numerical examples, involving plane steel EBFs and BRBFs.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.957-980
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• 2016

Structural damage detection (SDD) is a challenging task in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM). As an exploring attempt to the SDD problem, a hybrid self-adaptive Firefly-Nelder-Mead (SA-FNM) algorithm is proposed for the SDD problem in this study. First of all, the basic principle of firefly algorithm (FA) is introduced. The Nelder-Mead (NM) algorithm is incorporated into FA for improving the local searching ability. A new strategy for exchanging the information in the firefly group is introduced into the SA-FNM for reducing the computation cost. A random walk strategy for the best firefly and a self-adaptive control strategy of three key parameters, such as light absorption, randomization parameter and critical distance, are proposed for preferably balancing the exploitation and exploration ability of the SA-FNM. The computing performance of the SA-FNM is evaluated and compared with the basic FA by three benchmark functions. Secondly, the SDD problem is mathematically converted into a constrained optimization problem, which is then hopefully solved by the SA-FNM algorithm. A multi-step method is proposed for finding the minimum fitness with a big probability. In order to assess the accuracy and the feasibility of the proposed method, a two-storey rigid frame structure without considering the finite element model (FEM) error and a steel beam with considering the model error are taken examples for numerical simulations. Finally, a series of experimental studies on damage detection of a steel beam with four damage patterns are performed in laboratory. The illustrated results show that the proposed method can accurately identify the structural damage. Some valuable conclusions are made and related issues are discussed as well.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.305-317
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• 2021

An AMD control system is usually built based on the original model of a target building. As a result, the fact leads a large calculation workload exists. Therefore, the orders of a structural model should be reduced appropriately. Among various model-reduction methods, a suitable reduced-order model is important to high-rise buildings. Meanwhile, a partial structural information is discarded directly in the model-reduction process, which leads to the accuracy reduction of its controller design. In this paper, an optimal technique is selected through comparing several common model-reduction methods. Then, considering the dynamic characteristics of a high-rise building, an improved balanced truncation (BT) method is proposed for establishing its reduced-order model. The abandoned structural information, including natural frequencies, damping ratios and modal information of the original model, is reconsidered. Based on the improved reduced-order model, a new reduced-order controller is designed by a regional pole-placement method. A high-rise building with an AMD system is regarded as an example, in which the energy distribution, the control effects and the control parameters are used as the indexes to analyze the performance of the improved reduced-order controller. To verify its effectiveness, the proposed methodology is also applied to a four-storey experimental frame. The results demonstrate that the new controller has a stable control performance and a relatively short calculation time, which provides good potential for structural vibration control of high-rise buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.5
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• pp.575-589
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• 2018

It is well known that the incidence angle of seismic excitation has an influence on the structural response of buildings, and this effect can be more significant in the case of near-fault signals. However, current seismic codes do not include detailed requirements regarding the direction of application of the seismic action and they have only recently introduced specific provisions about near-fault earthquakes. Thus, engineers have the task of evaluating all the relevant directions or the most critical conditions case by case, in order to avoid underestimating structural demand. To facilitate the identification of the most critical incidence angle, this paper presents a procedure which makes use of a two-degree of freedom model for representing a building. The proposed procedure makes it possible to avoid the extensive computational effort of multiple dynamic analyses with varying angles of incidence of ground motion excitation, which is required if a spatial multi-degree of freedom model is used for representing a building. The procedure is validated through the analysis of two case studies consisting of an eight- and a six-storey reinforced concrete frame building, selected as representative of existing structures located in Italy. A set of 124 near-fault ground motion records oriented along 8 incidence angles, varying from 0 to 180 degrees, with increments of 22.5 degrees, is used to excite the structures. Comparisons between the results obtained with detailed models of the two structures and the proposed procedure are used to show the accuracy of the latter in the prediction of the most critical angle of seismic incidence.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2022

In this study, details of NRC beam-column connections were developed in which beam and columns pre-assembled in factories using steel angles were bolted on site. The developed joint details are NRC-J type and NRC-JD type. NRC-J type is a method of tensile joining with TS bolts to the side and lower surfaces of the side plate of the NRC column and the end plate of the NRC beam. NRC-JD type has a rigid joint with high-strength bolts between the NRC beam and the side of the NRC column for shear, and with lap splices of reinforcing bar penetrating the joint and the beam main reinforcement for bending. For the seismic performance evaluation of the joint, three specimens were tested: an NRC-J specimen and NRC-JD specimen with NRC beam-column joint details, and an RC-J specimen with RC beam-column joint detail. As a result of the repeated lateral load test, the final failure mode of all specimens was the bending fracture of the beam at the beam-column interface. Compared to the RC-J specimen, the maximum strength of the specimen by the positive force was 10.1% and 29.6% higher in the NRC-J specimen and the NRC-JD specimen, respectively. Both NRC joint details were evaluated to secure ductility of 0.03 rad or more, the minimum total inter-story displacement angle required for the composite intermediate moment frame according to the KDS standard (KDS 41 31 00). At the slope by relative storey displacemet of 5.7%, the NRC-J specimen and the NRC-JD specimen had about 34.8% and 61.1% greater cumulative energy dissipation capacity than the RC specimen. The experimental strength of the NRC beam-column connection was evaluated to be 30% to 53% greater than the theoretical strength according to the KDS standard formula, and the standard formula evaluated the joint performance as a safety side.