• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.79-87
• /
• 2023

Special moment resisting steel frame structures are now being used commonly in highly seismic regions as seismically reliable structures. However, a very important parameter describing the dynamics of steel structures during earthquake loading, Soil Structure Interaction (SSI), is generally neglected. In this study, the significance of consideration of flexibility of soil in being able to obtain a result closer to reality is asserted. The current paper focuses on calculation of seismic fragility curves special moment resisting steel frame structures under different earthquake loadings for fixed-base and SSI models. The observation of obtained fragility curves lead to the conclusion that the SSI has a considerable effect on component fragility for the steel structures, with its effects decreasing for higher peak ground acceleration. The results show that the structures when considered SSI have a higher probability of exceeding a damage limit state. This observation attests the role of SSI in the accurate study of structural performance.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.359-374
• /
• 2017

The seismic events in Northern Italy, May 2012, have revealed the seismic vulnerability of typical Italian precast industrial buildings. The aim of this paper is to present a seismic fragility model for Italian RC precast buildings, to be used in earthquake loss estimation and seismic risk assessment by comparing two building typologies and three different codes: D.M. 3-03-1975, D.M. 16-01-1996 and current Italian building code that has been released in 2008. Based on geometric characteristics and design procedure applied, ten different building classes were identified. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed for each building class in order to generate the building stock used for the development of fragility curves trough analytical method. The probabilistic distributions of geometry were mainly obtained from data collected from 650 field surveys, while the material properties were deduced from the code in place at the time of construction or from expert opinion. The structures were modelled in 2D frameworks; since the past seismic events have identified the beam-column connection as the weakest element of precast buildings, two different modelling solutions were adopted to develop fragility curves: a simple model with post processing required to detect connection collapse and an innovative modelling solution able to reproduce the real behaviour of the connection during the analysis. Fragility curves were derived using both nonlinear static and dynamic analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.74 no.4
• /
• pp.481-494
• /
• 2020

In this paper, a probability-based procedure to evaluate the performance of existing RC structures exposed to seismic and fire actions is presented. The procedure is demonstrated with reference to an existing old school building, located in Italy. The vulnerability assessment of the building highlights deficiencies under both static and seismic loads. Retrofit operations are designed to achieve the seismic safety. The idea of the work consists in assessing the performance of the existing and retrofitted building in terms of both the seismic and fire resistance. The seismic retrofit and fire resistance upgrading follow different paths, depending on the specific configuration of the building. A good seismic retrofit does not entail an improving of the fire resistance and vice versa. The goal of the current work is to study the variation of response due to the uncertainties considered in records/fire curves selection and to carry out the assessment of the studied RC structure by obtaining fragility curves under the effect of different records/temperature. The results show the fragility curves before and after retrofit operations and both in terms of seismic performance and fire resistance performance, measuring the percent improving for the different limit states.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.271-280
• /
• 2018

This paper presents a framework for developing aftershock fragility curves for reinforced concrete bridges initially damaged by mainshocks. The presented aftershock fragility is a damage-dependent fragility function, which is conditioned on an initial damage state resulting from mainshocks. The presented framework can capture the cumulative damage of as-built bridges due to mainshock-aftershock sequences as well as the reduced vulnerability of bridges repaired with CFRP pier jackets. To achieve this goal, the numerical model of column jackets is firstly presented and then validated using existing experimental data available in literature. A four-span concrete box-girder bridge is selected as a case study to examine the application of the presented framework. The aftershock fragility curves are derived using response data from back-to-back nonlinear dynamic analyses under mainshock-aftershock sequences. The aftershock fragility curves for as-built bridge columns are firstly compared with different levels of initial damage state, and then the post-repair effect of FRP pier jacket is examined through the comparison of aftershock fragility curves for as-built and repaired piers.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.3
• /
• pp.894-903
• /
• 2019

An approach for collapse risk assessment is proposed to evaluate the vulnerability of electric cabinet in nuclear power plants. The lognormal approaches, namely maximum likelihood estimation and linear regression, are introduced to establish the fragility curves. These two fragility analyses are applied for the numerical models of cabinets considering various boundary conditions, which are expressed by representing restrained and anchored models at the base. The models have been built and verified using the system identification (SI) technique. The fundamental frequency of the electric cabinet is sensitive because of many attached devices. To bypass this complex problem, the average spectral acceleration $S_{\bar{a}}$ in the range of period that cover the first mode period is chosen as an intensity measure on the fragility function. The nonlinear time history analyses for cabinet are conducted using a suite of 40 ground motions. The obtained curves with different approaches are compared, and the variability of risk assessment is evaluated for restrained and anchored models. The fragility curves obtained for anchored model are found to be closer each other, compared to the fragility curves for restrained model. It is also found that the support boundary conditions played a significant role in acceleration response of cabinet.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.489-499
• /
• 2017

The effects of past earthquakes have demonstrated the seismic vulnerability of confined masonry structures (CMSs) to earthquakes. The results of experimental analysis indicate that damage to these structures depends on lateral displacement applied to the walls. Seismic evaluation lacks an analytical approach because of the complexity of the behavior of this type of structure; an empirical approach is often used for this purpose. Seismic assessment and risk analysis of CMSs, especially in area have a large number of such buildings is difficult and could be riddled with error. The present study used analytical and numerical models to develop a simplified nonlinear displacement-based approach for seismic assessment of a CMS. The methodology is based on the concept of ESDOF and displacement demand and is compared with displacement capacity at the characteristic period of vibration according to performance level. Displacement demand was identified using the nonlinear displacement spectrum for a specified limit state. This approach is based on a macro model and nonlinear incremental dynamic analysis of a 3D prototype structure taking into account uncertainty of the mechanical properties and results in a simple, precise method for seismic assessment of a CMS. To validate the approach, a case study was considered in the form of an analytical fragility curve which was then compared with the precise method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.84 no.4
• /
• pp.503-515
• /
• 2022

Based on the sliding isolation concrete LSS (liquid-storage structure), the specific seismic vulnerability is analyzed according to the general failure mode. In this study, 12 seismic inputs with different characteristics are used, and their acceleration peak values are modulated. By inputting these waves to the sliding isolation concrete storage structure, the finite-element models of different concrete rectangular LSSs are obtained and analyzed, and the failure probabilities are obtained according to the IDA (incremental dynamic analysis) curves of the structure. The results show that when the seismic acceleration peak value gradually increases from 0.1 g to 1.0 g, the failure probability of LSS gradually increases with the increase in friction coefficient. However, the failure probability of a sliding isolation LSS is less than 100% and far less than the failure probability of a non-isolated rectangular LSS, which shows that an isolated liquid storage structure continues working under a big earthquake. Thus, the sliding isolation for the concrete LSS has a significant damping effect.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.524-535
• /
• 2013

Catastrophe risk models require the damage functions of each vulnerable item in inventory to estimate volcanic ash losses. The damage functions are used to represent the relation between damage factors and damage and also widely used in engineering and natural hazard studies to calculate the vulnerability. In most cases, damage functions are constructed as fragility or vulnerability curves, and researchers are confused by the similarities between them particularly when they perform interdisciplinary research. Thus, we aim to explain the similarities and differences between fragility and vulnerability curves and their relationship by providing case studies to construct them. In addition, we suggest a simple method to construct the damage functions between damage ratio and volcanic ash thickness using limited damage data. This study comes from the fact that damage functions are generally constructed using damage data. However, there is no available volcanic ash damage data in Korea, and not even enough volcanic disaster data to construct damage functions in the world, compared to other hazards. Using the method suggested in the study and the limited damage data from Japan and New Zealand, we construct Weibull-type functions or linear functions dependent of available data to calculate volcanic ash loss estimation, which we think need to be corrected to make it more suitable for inventory characteristics and environmental conditions in Korea.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.95-102
• /
• 2018

Seismic fragility curves of concrete cylindrical tanks are determined using the finite element method. Vulnerabilities including sloshing of contents, tensile cracking and compression failure of the tank wall due to bending are accounted for. Effects of wall flexibility, fixity at the base, and height-diameter ratio on the response are investigated. Tall, medium and squat tanks are considered. The dynamic analysis is implemented using the horizontal components of consistent earthquakes. The study shows that generally taller tanks are more vulnerable to all of the failure modes considered. Among the modes of failure, the bending capacity of wall was shown to be the critical design parameter.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 1999.04a
• /
• pp.223-230
• /
• 1999

The seismic damage assessment to the postulated earthquake is attempted for the buildings in the model district of Seoul City. The capacity spectrum method is employed in which the vulnerability functions are expressed as functions of the spectral displacement. the database of the building stock is constructed and managed using Geographic Information System software. The model district is selected to represent the typical structural and residential characteristics of Seoul City The structural properties were collected from the design documents. The field inspections were carried out to find out the current status of the building. They are classified into 11 structural types. The fragility curves in HazUS are employed, The ground motions from the postulated earthquakes are simulated using the Boor's methods, The surface soil in the district is classified into 3 profiles using the depth as the parameter. The one-dimensional wave propagation method is used to calculate he filtered ground motion through surface soil layer. The average spectrum of this sample time histories is used as the demand curves. The calculated results are expressed in maps using GIS software ArcView 3.0a