• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.175-185
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• 2020

Currently, few studies have been conducted to comprehend the seismic reliability of post-tensioned (PT) CLT shear wall structures, due to the complexity of this kind of structural system as well as due to lack of a reliable structural model. In this paper, a set of 4-, 8-, 12-, and 16-storey benchmark PT CLT shear wall structures (PT-CLTstrs) were designed using the direct displacement-based design method, and their calibrated structural models were developed. The seismic reliability of each PT-CLTstr was assessed based on the fragility analysis and based on the response surface method (RSM), respectively. The fragility-based reliability index and the RSM-based reliability index were then compared, for each PT-CLTstr and for each seismic hazard level. Results show that the RSM-based reliabilities are slightly less than the fragility-based reliabilities. Overall, both the RSM and the fragility-based reliability method can be used as efficient approaches for assessing the seismic reliabilities of the PT-CLTstrs. For these studied mid- and high-rise benchmark PT-CLTstrs, following their fragility-based reliabilities, the 8-storey PT-CLTstr is subjected to the least seismic vulnerability; while, following their RSM-based reliabilities, the 4-storey PT-CLTstr is subjected to the least seismic vulnerability

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.944-958
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• 2011

Soil hydraulic properties such as hydraulic conductivity or water retention which are costly to measure can be indirectly generated by soil pedotransfer function (PTF) using easily obtainable soil data. The field soil structure description which is routinely recorded could also be used in PTF as an input to reduce the uncertainty. The purposes of this study were to use qualitative morphological soil structure descriptions and soil structural index into PTF and to evaluate their contribution in the prediction of soil hydraulic properties. We transformed categorical morphological descriptions of soil structure into quantitative values using categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA). This approach was tested with a large data set from the US National Pedon Characterization database with the aid of a categorical regression tree analysis. Six different PTFs were used to predict the saturated hydraulic conductivity and those results were averaged to quantify the uncertainty. Quantified morphological description was successively used in multiple linear regression approach to predict the averaged ensemble saturated conductivity. The selected stepwise regression model with only the transformed morphological variables and structural index as predictors predicted the $K_{sat}$ with $r^2$ = 0.48 (p = 0.018), indicating the feasibility of CATPCA approach. In a regression tree analysis, soil structure index and soil texture turned out to be important factors in the prediction of the hydraulic properties. Among structural descriptions size class turned out to be an important grouping parameter in the regression tree. Bulk density, clay content, W33 and structural index explained clusters selected by a two step clustering technique, implying the morphologically described soil structural features are closely related to soil physical as well as hydraulic properties. Although this study provided relatively new method which related soil structure description to soil structure index, the same approach should be tested using a datasets containing the actual measurement of hydraulic properties. More insight on the predictive power of soil structure index to estimate hydraulic properties would be achieved by considering measured the saturated hydraulic conductivity and the soil water retention.

• Computational Structural Engineering : An International Journal
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2001

A framework for reliability analysis of structural components and systems under conditions of statistical and model uncertainty is presented. The Bayesian parameter estimation method is used to derive the posterior distribution of model parameters reflecting epistemic uncertainties. Point, predictive and bound estimates of reliability accounting for parameter uncertainties are derived. The bounds estimates explicitly reflect the effect of epistemic uncertainties on the reliability measure. These developments are enhance-ments of second-moment uncertainty analysis methods developed by A. H-S. Ang and others three decades ago.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.629-648
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• 2016

This paper deals with 111 buildings built between 1962 and 1987, from various parts of the city of Osijek, for which, through the collection of documentation, a database is created. The aim of this paper is to provide the first steps in assessing seismic risk in Osijek applying method based on vulnerability index. This index uses collected information of parameters of the building: the structural system, the construction year, plan, the height, i.e., the number of stories, the type of foundation, the structural and non-structural elements, the type and the quality of main construction material, the position in the block and built-up area. According to this method defining five damage states, the action is expressed in terms of the macroseismic intensity and the seismic quality of the buildings by means of a vulnerability index. The value of the vulnerability index can be changed depending on the structural systems, quality of construction, etc., by introducing behavior and regional modifiers based on expert judgments. Since there is no available data of damaged buildings under earthquake loading in our country, we will propose behavior modifiers based on values suggested by earlier works and on judgment based on available project documentation of the considered buildings. Depending on the proposed modifiers, the seismic vulnerability of existing buildings in the city of Osijek will be assessed. The resulting vulnerability of the considered residential buildings provides necessary insight for emergency planning and for identification of critical objects vulnerable to seismic loading.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.6
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• pp.793-808
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• 2023

Türkiye is located in a region where destructive earthquakes are frequently experienced due to its geological characteristics and geographical location. Therefore, considering the possibility of a devastating earthquake at any time, determining the reinforced concrete (RC) building seismic safety, constructed before or after the current seismic buildings code, is one of the most important issues to be completed firstly. For this purpose, rapid assessment methods developed to quickly determine the seismic safety of buildings are available in the literature. Comparison of the principles of Principles of the Determination of Risky Structures-2019, Column and Wall Index Method, P25 Scoring Method and Improved Discriminant Analysis Method, which are among these methods, have been aimed within the scope of this study. Within the scope of this paper, a total of 43 buildings in the Yalova/Çınarcık region of Türkiye that the damage level was determined by street observation method immediately after the 1999 Kocaeli (Izmit) Earthquake; 15 buildings with heavy damage and 28 buildings with moderate damage were examined by rapid assessment methods. Although the risk detection difference was not separated as a clear line in any of the methods used, the results obtained from the rapid assessment methods are evaluated as being compatible with the detected after earthquake structural seismic behavior of the buildings. The PDRS-2019 and column and wall index method gave the most approximate results. In the results obtained from the analyzes; structural features such as number of floors, frame continuity, soft/weak story irregularity, effective shear strength area, existence of heavy overhangs in plan, type of structural system have been found to be significantly effective on the earthquake behavior of buildings.

• Journal of applied mathematics & informatics
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• v.39 no.3_4
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• pp.339-358
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• 2021

Zagreb indices and their modified versions of a molecular graph are important descriptors which can be used to characterize the structural properties of organic molecules from different aspects. In this work, we investigate some properties of the modified second multiplicative Zagreb index of graphs with given connectivity. In particular, we obtain the maximum values of the modified second multiplicative Zagreb index with fixed number of cut edges, or cut vertices, or edge connectivity, or vertex connectivity of graphs. Furthermore, we characterize the corresponding extremal graphs.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2017

Introduction of robustness index in the structure is done in three ways: deterministic robustness index, probabilistic robustness index, and risk-based robustness index. In past decades, there have been numerous researches to evaluate robustness index in both deterministic and probabilistic ways. In this research, by using a risk analysis, a risk-based robustness index has been defined for the structure. By creating scenarios in accordance with uncertainty parameters of critical and unexpected gas blast accident, a new method has been suggested for evaluating risk-based robustness index. Finally, a numerical example for the evaluation of risk-based robustness index of a four-storey reinforced concrete moment frame, designed and built based on Eurocode 8 code, has been presented with results showing a lower risk of robustness.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.17 no.3_4
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• pp.331-346
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• 2004

A new sensor system is proposed for measuring damage indexes. The damage index is a physical value that is well correlated to a critical damage in a device or a structure. The mechanism proposed here utilizes elastic buckling of a thin wire and does not require any external power supply for memorizing the index. The mechanisms to detect peak strain, peak displacement, peak acceleration and cumulative deformation as examples of damage indexes are presented. Furthermore, passive and active wireless data retrieval mechanisms using electromagnetic induction are proposed. The passive wireless system is achieved by forming a closed LC circuit to oscillate at its natural frequency. The active wireless sensor can transmit the data much further than the passive system at the sacrifice of slightly complicated electric circuit for the sensor. For wireless data retrieval, no wire is needed for the sensor to supply electrical power. For the active system, electrical power is supplied to the sensor by radio waves emitted from the retrieval system. Thus, external power supply is only needed for the retrieval system when the retrieval becomes necessary. Theoretical and experimental studies to show excellent performance of the proposed sensor are presented. Finally, a prototype damage index sensor installed into a 7 storey base-isolated building is explained.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1-11
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• 2017

PURPOSES : This study is aimed at development of a stochastic pavement deterioration forecasting model using National Highway Pavement Condition Index (NHPCI) to support infrastructure asset management. Using this model, the deterioration process regarding life expectancy, deterioration speed change, and reliability were estimated. METHODS : Eight years of Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) data fused with traffic loads (Equivalent Single Axle Loads; ESAL) and structural capacity (Structural Number of Pavement; SNP) were used for the deterioration modeling. As an ideal stochastic model for asset management, Bayesian Markov multi-state exponential hazard model was introduced. RESULTS:The interval of NHPCI was empirically distributed from 8 to 2, and the estimation functions of individual condition indices (crack, rutting, and IRI) in conjunction with the NHPCI index were suggested. The derived deterioration curve shows that life expectancies for the preventive maintenance level was 8.34 years. The general life expectancy was 12.77 years and located in the statistical interval of 11.10-15.58 years at a 95.5% reliability level. CONCLUSIONS : This study originates and contributes to suggesting a simple way to develop a pavement deterioration model using the total condition index that considers road user satisfaction. A definition for level of service system and the corresponding life expectancies are useful for building long-term maintenance plan, especially in Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) work.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.197-208
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• 2019

The objective of this study is to propose new seismic intensity parameters based on the Hilbert spectrum and to associate them with the seismic damage potential. In recent years the assessment of even more seismic features derived from the seismic acceleration time-histories was associated with the structural damage. For a better insight into the complex seismic acceleration time-history, Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) analysis is utilized for its processing, and the Hilbert spectrum is obtained. New proposed seismic intensity parameters based on the Hilbert spectrum are derived. The aim is to achieve a significant estimation of the seismic damage potential on structures from the proposed new intensity parameters confirmed by statistical methods. Park-Ang overall structural damage index is used to describe the postseismic damage status of structures. Thus, a set of recorded seismic accelerograms from all over the word is applied on a reinforced concrete frame structure, and the Park-Ang indices through nonlinear dynamic analysis are provided and considered subsequently as reference numerical values. Conventional seismic parameters, with well-known seismic structural damage interrelation, are evaluated for the same set of excitations. Statistical procedures, namely correlation study and multilinear regression analysis, are applied on the set of the conventional parameters and the set of proposed new parameters separately, to confirm their interrelation with the seismic structural damage. The regression models are used for the evaluation of the structural damage indices for every set of parameters, respectively. The predicted numerical values of the structural damage indices evaluated from the two sets of seismic intensity parameters are inter-compared with the reference values. The numerical results confirm the ability of the proposed Hilbert spectrum based new seismic intensity parameters to approximate the postseismic structural damage with a smaller Standard Error of Estimation than this accomplished of the conventional ones.