• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.3_4
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• pp.413-434
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• 2012

This paper presents a displacement-based seismic design method with damage control, in which the targets for the considered performance level are set as displacements and a damage distribution is proposed by the designer. The method is based on concepts of basic structural dynamics and of a reference single degree of freedom system associated to the fundamental mode with a bilinear behaviour. Based on the characteristics of this behaviour curve and on the requirements of modal spectral analysis, the stiffness and strength of the structural elements of the structure satisfying the target design displacement are calculated. The formulation of this method is presented together with the formulations of two other existing methods currently considered of practical interest. To illustrate the application of the proposed method, 5 reinforced concrete plane frames: 8, 17 and 25 storey regular, and 8 and 12 storey irregular in elevation. All frames are designed for a seismic demand defined by single earthquake record in order to compare the performances and damage distributions used as design targets with the corresponding results of the nonlinear step by step analyses of the designed structures subjected to the same seismic demand. The performances and damage distributions calculated with these analyses show a good agreement with those postulated as targets.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.295-315
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• 2014

This paper presents the results of an analytical study on seismic reliability of viscoelastically damped frame systems in comparison with that of conventional moment resisting frame systems. In order to exhibit the reliability of the frame systems with viscoelastic dampers, seismic reliability analyses were carried out for steel framed buildings, 5 and 12 storeys in height, designed as: (a) Case 1: Conventional moment resisting frame, (b) Case 2: Frame with viscoelastic dampers providing supplemental effective damping ratio of 10%, and (c) Case 3: Frame with viscoelastic dampers providing supplemental effective damping ratio of 20%. Nonlinear time history analyses were utilized to develop seismic fragility curves whilst monitoring various performance objectives. To obtain robust estimators of the seismic reliability, a database including 15 natural earthquake ground motion records with markedly different characteristics was employed in the fragility analysis. The results indicate that depending upon the supplemental effective damping ratio, frames designed with viscoelastic dampers have considerably lower annual probability of exceedance of performance limit states for structural components, showing up to a five-fold reduction in comparison to conventionally designed moment resisting frame system.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.103-118
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• 2017

In vertical seismic isolation (VSI), a building is partitioned intentionally by vertical layers into two dynamically different substructures for seismic response reduction. Initially, a 1-story frame was partitioned into two substructures, interconnected by viscous and visco-elastic links, and seismic responses of the original and the vertically isolated structures (VIS) were obtained, considering a large number of stiffness and mass ratios of substructures with respect to the original structure. Color contour graphs were defined for presentation and investigation of large amounts of output results. Dynamic characteristics of the isolated structures were studied by considering the non-classical damping of the system, and then the effects of viscous and visco-elastic link parameters on the modal damping ratios were discussed. On this basis, three states of mass isolation, interactional state, and control mass were differentiated. Response history analyses were performed by Runge-Kutta numerical method. In these analyses, interaction of isolation ratios and link parameters, on response control of VIS was studied and the appropriate ranges for link parameters as well as the optimal ranges for isolation ratios were suggested. Results show that by using the VSI technique, seismic response reduction up to 50% in flexible substructure and even more in stiff substructure is achievable.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.389-403
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• 2021

Skewed bridges, being irregular structures with complicated dynamic behavior, are more susceptible to earthquake damage. Reliable seismic-resistant design of skewed bridges can be achieved by accurate determination of nonlinear seismic demands. However, the effect of geometric characteristics on the response modification factor (R-factor) is not accounted for in bridge design practices. This study attempts to investigate the effects of changes in the number of spans, skew angle and bearing stiffness on R-factor values and to assess the seismic fragility of skewed bridges. Results indicated that changes in the skew angle had no significant effect on R-factor values which were in consonance with code-prescribed R values. Also, unlike the increase in the number of spans that resulted in a decrease in the R-factor, the increase in bearing stiffness led to higher R-factor values. Findings of the fragility analysis implied that although the increase in the number of spans, as well as the increase in the skew angle, led to a higher failure probability, greater values of bearing stiffness reduced the collapse probability. For practicing design engineers, it is recommended that maximum demands on substructure elements to be calculated when the excitation angle is applied along the principal axes of skewed bridges.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2019

This paper provides quantitative data that describes the evolution of the air quality in the Whale and Sea Museum, located in the Iwate prefecture, collected after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The museum was damaged significantly by the disaster, and restoration works continued for over six years. The air quality in the temporary storage facility and museum was monitored during the rehabilitation process. Evaluation of air quality is carried out by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry, ion chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that the characteristics of the chemical components differed depending on the measurement locations inside the building. The museum atmosphere tended to be alkaline as the airtightness increased because of the maintenance works at the entrance. It was also determined that it was necessary to study the intake/exhaust routes and to clean them according to the contamination degree. In Japan, there are recommended museum air quality standards for acetic acid, formic acid, alkali, and aldehydes. The results indicated that these standards should not be used as a reference for damaged museums. Furthermore, at the temporary storage facilities for to store the collections during the rehabilitation of the museum, solvents such as ethyl benzene, toluene, and xylene are initially abundant, although they can be reduced by ventilation, while other components such as 2E1H was confirmed in this case are likely to remain.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.105-111
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• 2018

In this study, the seismic performance and behavior characteristics of the upper truss structure of the large stadium are analyzed by nonlinear dynamic analysis. In the nonlinear dynamic analysis, the earthquake records were generated by site response analysis to simulate the nonlinear behavior of the relevant soil condition where the structure is located. Nonlinear dynamic analysis was performed using Perform-3D and the nonlinear properties of the substructure and the superstructure were determined in accordance with KISTEC guideline. According to the analysis results, excessive deformation occurred in the upper truss element, and plastic hinges exceeded the target performance in some members. Buckling-restrained brace is used for seismic retrofit of stadium structures and the analysis results shows the interstory drift satisfies the target performance level with dissipating the seismic energy efficiently.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1470-1476
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• 2019

The nuclear power plants in South Korea have been designed in accordance with the U.S. Regulatory Guide 1.60 (R.G 1.60) design spectrum of which the peak frequency range is 2-10 Hz. The characteristics of the earthquakes at the Korea nuclear power plant sites were observed to be closer to that of Central and Eastern United States (CEUS) than the R.G 1.60, which is a lower amplification in a low frequency range, and a higher amplification in a high frequency range. The possibility of failure for sensitive power plant components in the high frequency range has been considered and evaluated. In this study, in order to improve the reliability of nuclear plant and administrative control procedures, seismic tests of an emergency diesel generator (EDG) were conducted using a shaking table under both high and low frequency ranges. From the tests, oil/lubricant leaks from the bolt connections, the fuel filter and the fuel inlet were observed. Therefore, the check list of nuclear plant components after an earthquake should include bolt connections of EDG as well as anchor bolts.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.98-107
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• 2019

In the case of a disaster, the damage caused by the disability vulnerability of persons with disabilities is significantly increased, discussing about a problem for the protection of the vulnerable class. However, until now policy, technology and response guidelines for disaster and safety have been focused on the general public. Therefore, it is necessary to develop customized support technology for disaster and safety considering vulnerable characteristics of vulnerable class. Firstly, it is necessary to prepare draft improvement proposal of act and support system related disaster and safety for persons with disabilities and older persons. So, this study was carried out analysis of act, policy and support system on disaster and safety for persons with disabilities and older persons of domestic and overseas in order to draw implication. Furthermore, we established direction for improvement of act and policy on disaster and safety for persons with disabilities based on the analysis, and suggested draft improvement proposal.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.155-162
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• 2019

It is very common to find an empirical formulation in an earthquake design code to calculate fundamental vibration period of a structural system. Fundamental vibration period or frequency is a key parameter to provide adequate information pertinent to dynamic characteristics and performance assessment of a structure. This parameter enables to assess seismic demand of a structure. It is possible to find an empirical formulation related to reinforced concrete structures, masonry towers and slender masonry structures. Calculated natural vibration frequencies suggested by empirical formulation in the literatures has not suits in a high accuracy to the case of rest of the historical masonry bridges due to different construction techniques and wide variety of material properties. For the listed reasons, estimation of fundamental frequency gets harder. This paper aims to present an empirical formulation through Mean Square Error study to find ambient vibration frequency of historical masonry bridges by using a non-linear regression model. For this purpose, a series of data collected from literature especially focused on the finite element models of historical masonry bridges modelled in a full scale to get first global natural frequency, unit weight and elasticity modulus of used dominant material based on homogenization approach, length, height and width of the masonry bridge and main span length were considered to predict natural vibration frequency. An empirical formulation is proposed with 81% accuracy. Also, this study draw attention that this accuracy decreases to 35%, if the modulus of elasticity and unit weight are ignored.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.967-973
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• 2021

In 2011, an earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing simultaneous accidents in several reactors. This accident shows us that if there are several reactors on site, the seismic risk to multiple units is important to consider, in addition to that to single units in isolation. When a seismic event occurs, a seismic-failure correlation exists between the nuclear power plant's structures, systems, and components (SSCs) due to their seismic-response and seismic-capacity correlations. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the multi-unit seismic risk by considering the SSCs' seismic-failure-correlation effect. In this study, a methodology is proposed to obtain the seismic-response-correlation coefficient between SSCs to calculate the risk to multi-unit facilities. This coefficient is calculated from a probabilistic multi-unit seismic-response analysis. The seismic-response and seismic-failure-correlation coefficients of the emergency diesel generators installed within the units are successfully derived via the proposed method. In addition, the distribution of the seismic-response-correlation coefficient was observed as a function of the distance between SSCs of various dynamic characteristics. It is demonstrated that the proposed methodology can reasonably derive the seismic-response-correlation coefficient between SSCs, which is the input data for multi-unit seismic probabilistic safety assessment.