• 국제초고층학회논문집
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.265-283
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• 2021

To ensure that fire induced collapse of a building is prevented it is important to understand the sequence of events that can lead to this event. In this paper, the initiation of collapse mechanisms of generic a multi-storey steel frame subjected to vertical and horizontal travelling fires are analysed computationally by tracking the formation of plastic hinges in the frame and generation of fire induced loads. Both uniform and travelling fires are considered. In total 58 different cases are analysed using finite element software LS-DYNA. For the frame examined with a simple and generic structural arrangement and higher applied fire protection to the columns, the results indicate that collapse mechanisms for singe floor and multiple floor fires can be each split into two main groups. For single floor fires (taking place in the upper floors of the frame (Group S1)), collapse is initiated by the pull-in of external columns when heated beams in end bays go into catenary action. For single floor fires occurring on the lower floors(Group S2), failure is initiated (i.e. ultimate strain of the material is exceeded) after the local beam collapse. Failure in both groups for single floor fires is governed by the generation of high loads due to restrained thermal expansion and the loss of material strength. For multiple floor fires with a low number of fire floors (1 to 3) - Group M1, failure is dominated by the loss of material strength and collapse is mainly initiated by the pull-in of external columns. For the cases with a larger number of fire floors (5 to 10) - Group M2, failure is dominated by thermal expansion and collapse is mainly initiated by swaying of the frame to the side of fire origin. The results show that for the investigated frame initiation of collapse mechanisms are affected by the fire type, the number of fire floors, and the location of the fire floor. The findings of this study could be of use to designers of buildings when developing fire protection strategies for steel framed buildings where the potential for a multifloor fire exists.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제11권1호
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• pp.109-127
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• 2016

This paper examines the contribution of three sources of uncertainties to probabilistic seismic behaviour of wood frame buildings, including ground motions, intensity and seismic mass. This sensitivity analysis is performed using three methods, including the traditional method based on the conditional distributions of ground motions at given intensity measures, a method using the summation of conditional distributions at given ground motion records, and the Monte Carlo simulation. FEMA P-695 ground motions and its scaling methods are used in the analysis. Two archetype buildings are used in the sensitivity analysis, including a two-storey building and a four-storey building. The results of these analyses indicate that using data-fitting techniques to obtain probability distributions may cause some errors. Linear interpolation combined with data-fitting technique may be employed to improve the accuracy of the calculated exceeding probability. The procedures can be used to quantify the risk of wood frame buildings in seismic events and to calibrate seismic design provisions towards design code improvement.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제11권1호
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• pp.1-16
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• 2001

This paper discusses the elastic stability of unbraced frames under non-proportional loading based on the concept of storey-based buckling. Unlike the case of proportional loading, in which the load pattern is predefined, load patterns for non-proportional loading are unknown, and there may be various load patterns that will correspond to different critical buckling loads of the frame. The problem of determining elastic critical loads of unbraced frames under non-proportional loading is expressed as the minimization and maximization problem with subject to stability constraints and is solved by a linear programming method. The minimum and maximum loads represent the lower and upper bounds of critical loads for unbraced frames and provide realistic estimation of stability capacities of the frame under extreme load cases. The proposed approach of evaluating the stability of unbraced frames under non-proportional loading has taken into account the variability of magnitudes and patterns of loads, therefore, it is recommended for the design practice.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.365-375
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• 2023

Energy dissipation systems increase the energy dissipation capacity of buildings considerably. In this study, the effect of dampers on a typical 10-storey reinforced concrete structure with a ductile moment-resisting frame was investigated. In this context, 5 different models were created according to the calculation of the slip load and the positions of the dampers in the structure. Nonlinear time-history analyzes using 11 different earthquake acceleration records were performed on the models using the ETABS program. As a result of the analyses, storey displacements, energy dissipation ratios, drift ratios, storey accelerations, storey shears, and hysteretic curves of the dampers on the first and last storey and overturning moments are presented. In the study, it was determined that friction dampers increased the energy dissipation capacities of all models. In addition, it has been determined that positioning the dampers in the outer region of the structures and taking the base shear as a basis in the slip load calculation will be more effective.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.461-478
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• 2016

This paper aims to provide guidelines for the numerical modeling of reinforced concrete (RC) frame elements in order to assess the seismic performance of structures. Several types of numerical models RC frame elements are available in nonlinear structural analysis packages. Since these numerical models are formulated based on different assumption and theories, the models accuracy, computing time, and applicability vary, which poses a great difficulty to practicing engineering and limits their confidence in the analysis resultants. In this study, the applicability of four representative numerical models of RC frame elements is evaluated through comparison with experimental results of four-storey bare frame available from European Laboratory for Structural Assessment. The accuracy of a numerical model is evaluated according to the top displacement, interstorey drift, Maximum storey shear, damage pattern and energy dissipation capacity of the frame structure. The results obtained allow a better understanding of the characteristics and potentialities of all procedures, helping the user to choose the best approach to perform nonlinear analysis.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.283-295
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• 2019

During the seismic performance assessment of existing buildings, staircases are generally not taken into account as structural members but as dead load. Staircases, as secondary structural members, not only serve for connecting successive floors but also provide considerable amount of strength and stiffness to the building which can modify its seismic behaviour considerably. In this parametric study, the influence of staircases on the seismic response of substandard RC frame buildings which differ in number of storey and span, presence of staircase and its position has been examined. Modal Analyses and bi-directional Non-Linear Time History Analyses (NLTHA) were conducted to compare several engineering demand parameters (EDPs) such as inter-storey drift ratio (ISDR), floor accelerations, modal properties, member shear forces and plastic hinge distribution. Additionally, short column effect, variation in shear forces of columns that are attached to the staircase slab, failure and deformation in staircase models have also been investigated. As the staircase was considered in the analytical model, a different damage pattern can be developed especially in the structural components close to staircase.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제70권4호
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• pp.421-429
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• 2019

This paper presents an analytical model for the estimation of initial lateral stiffness of steel moment resisting frames with masonry infills. However, rather than focusing on the single bay-single storey substructure, the developed model attempts to estimate the global stiffness of multi-storey and multi-bay frames, using an assembly of equivalent springs and taking into account the shape of the lateral loading pattern. The contribution from each infilled frame panel is included as an individual spring, whose properties are determined on the basis of established diagonal strut macro-modeling approaches from the literature. The proposed model is evaluated parametrically against numerical results from frame analyses, with varying number of frame stories, infill openings, masonry thickness and modulus of elasticity. The performance of the model is evaluated and found quite satisfactory.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제64권5호
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• pp.543-555
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• 2017

The non-linear behaviour of integral infilled frames (in which the infill and the frame are bonded together with help of various interface materials) is studied both experimentally and numerically. The experiments were carried out on one-sixth scale two-bay and three-storey reinforced concrete frames with and without infill against static cyclic loading. Three interface materials - cement mortar, cork and foam have been used in between the infill and the frame. The infill, interface and the frame are bonded together is called integral frame. The linear and non-linear behaviors of two dimensional bare frame and integral infilled frame have been studied numerically using the commercial finite element software SAP 2000. Linear finite element analysis has been carried out to quantify the effect of various interface materials on the infilled frames with various combinations of 21 cases and the results compared. The modified configuration that used all three interface materials offered better resistance above others. Therefore, the experiments were limited to this modified infilled frame case configuration, in addition to conventional (A1-integral infilled frame with cement mortar as interface) and bare frame (A0-No infill). The results have been compared with the numerical results done initially. It is found that stiffness of bare frame increased by infilling and the strength of modified frame increased by 20% compare to bare frame. The ductility ratio of modified infilled frame was 42% more than that of the conventional infilled frame. In general, the numerical result was found to be in good agreement with experimental results for initial crack load, ultimate load and deformed pattern of infill.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.293-311
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• 2016

A parametric study on the nonlinear seismic response of isolated reinforced concrete structural frame is presented. Three prototype frames designed according to the 1954 Hellenic seismic code, with number of floor ranging from 1 to 3 were considered. These low rise frames are representative of many existing reinforced concrete buildings in Greece. The efficacy of the implementation of both lead rubber bearings (LRB) and friction pendulum isolators (FPI) base isolation systems were examined. The selection of the isolation devices was made according to the ratio $T_{is}/T_{fb}$, where Tis is the period of the base isolation system and $T_{bf}$ is the period of the fixed-base building. The main purpose of this comprehensive study is to investigate the effect of the isolation system period on the seismic response of inadequately designed low rise buildings. Thus, the implementation of isolation systems which correspond to the ratio $T_{is}/T_{fb}$ that values from 3 to 5 is studied. Nonlinear time history analyses were performed to investigate the response of the isolated structures using a set of three natural seismic ground motions. The evaluation of each retrofitting case was made in terms of storey drift and storey shear force while in view of serviceability it was made in terms of storey acceleration. Finally, the maximum developed displacements and the residual displacements of the isolation systems are presented.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.265-280
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• 2016

Environmental and operational benefits of green roofs are manifolds; however, their main disadvantages are cost and weight. New technology enabled the use of plastics to reduce the weight of green roof systems to promote their installation. To maximize their potential benefits, green roofs can be installed on existing structures. This study evaluates the influence of green roofs on the seismic response of 3, 6, and 8 storey reinforced concrete ductile moment resisting frames, which were designed according to current seismic standards, however, not designed for green roofs. For each frame, three different types of roofs are considered: gravel flat roof, extensive green roof, and intensive green roof. Nonlinear dynamic time history analysis using an ensemble of twenty real earthquake records was performed to determine the inter-storey drift demand and roof drift demand for each frame. Eigenvalue analysis was also performed to determine the impact of green roofs weight on the elastic and cracked periods of the structure. Results from the analysis demonstrated that intensive and extensive green roofs do not affect the seismic performance of reinforced concrete frame structures.