• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.99-118
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• 2013

Earthquakes, which are unavoidable natural phenomena in Turkey, have often produced economic and social disaster. The latest destructive earthquakes happened in Van city. Van, Turkey, earthquakes with M = 7.2 occurred on 23 October 2011 at 13:41 (local time), whose epicenter was about 16 km north of Van (Tabanlivillage) and M = 5.6 on 9 November 2011 epicentered near the town of Edremit south of Van in eastern Turkey and caused the loss of life and heavy damages. Both earthquakes killed 644 people and 2608 people were injured. Approximately 4000 buildings collapsed or were seriously damaged. The majority of the damaged structures were seismically insufficient, unreinforced masonry and adobe buildings in rural areas. In this paper, site surveys of the damaged masonry and adobe buildings are presented and the reasons for the caused damages are discussed in detail.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.561-580
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• 2014

After strong earthquakes conventional frames used worldwide in multi - story steel buildings (e.g. moment resisting frames) are not well positioned according to reparability. Two innovative systems for seismic resistant steel frames incorporated with dissipative fuses were developed within the European Research Program "FUSEIS" (Vayas et al. 2013). The first, FUSEIS1, resembles a vertical Vierendeel beam and is composed of two closely spaced strong columns rigidly connected to multiple beams. In the second system, FUSEIS2, a discontinuity is introduced in the composite beams of a moment resisting frame and the dissipative devices are steel plates connecting the two parts. The FUSEIS system is able to dissipate energy by means of inelastic deformations in the fuses and combines ductility and architectural transparency with stiffness. In case of strong earthquakes damage concentrates only in the fuses which behave as self-centering systems able to return the structure to its initial undeformed shape. Repair work after such an event is limited only to replacing the fuses. Experimental and numerical investigations were performed to study the response of the fuses system. Code relevant design rules for the seismic design of frames with dissipative FUSEIS and practical recommendations on the selection of the appropriate fuses as a function of the most important parameters and member verifications have been formulated and are included in a Design Guide. This article presents the design and performance of building frames with FUSEIS 1-1 based on models calibrated on the experimental results.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.679-702
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• 2013

During an earthquake, soils filter and send out the shaking to the building and simultaneously it has the role of bearing the building vibrations and transmitting them back to the ground. In other words, the ground and the building interact with each other. Hence, soil-structure interaction (SSI) is a key parameter that affects the performance of buildings during the earthquakes and is worth to be taken into consideration. Columns are one of the most crucial elements in RC buildings that play an important role in stability of the building and must be able to dissipate energy under seismic loads. Recent earthquakes showed that formation of plastic hinges in columns is still possible as a result of strong ground motion, despite the application of strong column-weak beam concept, as recommended by various design codes. Energy is dissipated through the plastic deformation of specific zones at the end of a member without affecting the rest of the structure. The formation of a plastic hinge in an RC column in regions that experience inelastic actions depends on the column details as well as soil-structure interaction (SSI). In this paper, 854 different scenarios have been analyzed by inelastic time-history analyses to predict the nonlinear behavior of RC columns considering soil-structure interaction (SSI). The effects of axial load, height over depth ratio, main period of soil and structure as well as different characteristics of earthquakes, are evaluated analytically by finite element methods and the results are compared with corresponding experimental data. Findings from this study provide a simple expression to estimate plastic hinge length of RC columns including soil-structure interaction.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Advanced Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.28-34
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• 2011

Because strong urban earthquakes must produce huge losses of both life and property, examinations about the effect of huge earthquakes for tall buildings are very required. The goal of this report is examining model safety and compare the behavior of 2-D tall models under huge seismic loads. This report examines high-rise models designed KBC2009 codes using 1) seismic loads regulated by KBC2009 and 2) amplified seismic loads assumed to strong earthquakes. And observing for more realistic behavior of tall buildings under huge earthquakes, this report takes two analysis methods - response spectrum analysis and non-linear time history analysis considering P-delta effect.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.129-142
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• 2018

The current paper introduces a new approach for development of damage index to obtain the maximum damage in the reinforced concrete frames caused by as-recorded single and consecutive earthquakes. To do so, two sets of strong ground motions are selected based on maximum and approximately maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) from "PEER" and "USGS" centers. Consecutive earthquakes in the first and second groups, not only occurred in similar directions and same stations, but also their real time gaps between successive shocks are less than 10 minutes and 10 days, respectively. In the following, a suite of six concrete moment resisting frames, including 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15 stories, are designed in OpenSees software and analyzed for more than 850 times under two groups of as-recorded strong ground motion records with/without seismic sequences phenomena. The idealized multilayer artificial neural networks, with the least value of Mean Square Error (MSE) and maximum value of regression (R) between outputs and targets were then employed to generate the empirical charts and several correction equations for design utilization. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed damage index, calibration of the new approach to existing real data (the result of Park-Ang damage index 1985), were conducted. The obtained results show good precision of the developed ANNs-based model in predicting the maximum damage of regular reinforced concrete frames.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.365-372
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• 2019

Post-earthquake crisis management is a key capability for a country to be able to recover after a major seismic event. Instrumental seismic data transmitted and processed in a very short time can contribute to better management of the emergency and can give insights on the earthquake's impact on a specific area. Romania is a country with a high seismic hazard, mostly due to the Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes. The elastic acceleration response spectrum of a seismic motion provides important information on the level of maximum acceleration the buildings were subjected to. Based on new data analysis and knowledge advancements, the acceleration elastic response spectrum for horizontal ground components recommended by the Romanian seismic codes has been evolving over the last six decades. This study aims to propose a framework for post-earthquake warning based on code spectrum exceedances. A comprehensive background analysis was undertaken using strong motion data from previous earthquakes corroborated with observational damage, to prove the method's applicability. Moreover, a case-study for two densely populated Romanian cities (Focsani and Bucharest) is presented, using data from a $5.5M_W$ earthquake (October 28, 2018) and considering the evolution of the three generations of code-based spectral levels for the two cities. Data recorded in free-field and in buildings were analyzed and has confirmed that no structural damage occurred within the two cities. For future strong seismic events, this tool can provide useful information on the effect of the earthquake on structures in the most exposed areas.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.741-754
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• 2015

This study evaluates prediction models for three EDPs (engineering demand parameters) using data from three symmetrical structures with RC walls designed according to the currently enforced Romanian seismic design code P100-1/2013. The three analyzed EDPs are: the maximum interstorey drift, the maximum top displacement and the maximum shear force at the base of the RC walls. The strong ground motions used in this study consist of three pairs of recordings from the Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes of 1977, 1986 and 1990, as well as two other pairs of recordings from significant earthquakes in Turkey and Greece (Erzincan and Aigion). The five pairs of recordings are rotated in a clockwise direction and the values of the EDPs are recorded. Finally, the relation between various IMs (intensity measures) of the strong ground motion records and the EDPs is studied and two prediction models for EDPs are also evaluated using the analysis of residuals.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.957-981
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• 2015

Earthquakes occur as a cluster in many regions around the world where complex fault systems exist. The repeated shaking usually induces accumulative damage to affected structures. Damage accumulation in structural systems increases their level of degradation in stiffness and also reduces their strength. Many existing analytical tools of modeling RC structures lack the salient damage features that account for stiffness and strength degradation resulting from repeated earthquake loading. Therefore, these tools are inadequate to study the response of structures in regions prone to multiple earthquakes hazard. The objective of this paper is twofold: (a) develop a tool that contains appropriate damage features for the numerical analysis of RC structures subjected to more than one earthquake; and (b) conduct a parametric study that investigates the effects of multiple earthquakes on the response of RC moment resisting frame systems. For this purpose, macroscopic constitutive models of concrete and steel materials that contain the aforementioned damage features and are capable of accurately capturing materials degrading behavior, are selected and implemented into fiber-based finite element software. Furthermore, finite element models that utilize the implemented concrete and steel stress-strain hysteresis are developed. The models are then subjected to selected sets of earthquake sequences. The results presented in this study clearly indicate that the response of degrading structural systems is appreciably influenced by strong-motion sequences in a manner that cannot be predicted from simple analysis. It also confirms that the effects of multiple earthquakes on earthquake safety can be very considerable.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.3_4
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• pp.231-248
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• 2012

In this study, a systematic investigation is carried out on the seismic behaviour of plane moment resisting steel frames (MRF) to repeated strong ground motions. Such a sequence of earthquakes results in a significant damage accumulation in a structure because any rehabilitation action between any two successive seismic motions cannot be practically materialised due to lack of time. In this work, thirty-six MRF which have been designed for seismic and vertical loads according to European codes are first subjected to five real seismic sequences which are recorded at the same station, in the same direction and in a short period of time, up to three days. Furthermore, the examined frames are also subjected to sixty artificial seismic sequences. This investigation shows that the sequences of ground motions have a significant effect on the response and, hence, on the design of MRF. Additionally, it is concluded that ductility demands, behaviour factor and seismic damage of the repeated ground motions can be satisfactorily estimated using appropriate combinations of the corresponding demands of single ground motions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.89-101
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• 2017

The focus of this paper is the study on the seismic performance of RC buildings with two different connections at the base level under near-fault earthquakes. It is well-known that the impulsive nature of the near-fault ground motions causes severe damages to framed buildings especially at base connections. In the scope of this study, two types of 3-dimensional RC Moment Frames with Fixed Support (MFFS) and Hinged Support (MFHS) containing 5 and 10 stories are assessed under an ensemble of 11 strong ground motions by implementing nonlinear response history analysis. The most vulnerable locations of MFFS, are the connections of corner columns to foundation especially under strong earthquakes. On the other hand, using beams at the base level as well as hinged base connections in MFHS buildings, prevents damages of corner columns and achieves more ductile behavior. Results denote that the MFHS including Base Level Beams (BLB) significantly shows better behavior compared with MFFS, particularly under pulse-type records. Additionally, the first story beams and also interior components undergo more actions. Role of the BLBs are similar to fuses decreasing the flexural moments of the corner columns. The BLBs can be constructed as replaceable members which provide the reparability of structures.